The Mac Jones era has officially begun at Gillette Stadium, and despite a one-point loss to the Miami Dolphins at home, things looked extremely promising. Don’t get me wrong, there were absolutely times where Mac Jones showed that he was a rookie, but the other 95% of the game he looked well beyond his years.

That game exposed a few things (in my eyes) that the Patriots absolutely have to work on, especially in order to beat the numerous teams that are now better than them in this league. The first of those being the offensive penalties. If there’s anything that drives Bill Belichick absolutely insane, it’s self-inflicted, dumb penalties that cost the team yards and points. That game was full of them.

Second, for some reason, the Patriots seemed to think that the key to that game was using Damien Harris 23 times averaging just over 4 yards per rush. Josh McDaniels and the Patriots without question overworked Harris causing him to get exhausted, lose focus, and (speaking of self-inflicted incidents that cost you yards and points) fumble the ball inevitably costing the Patriots a win.

I don’t understand it now and I didn’t understand it then. James White was having a strong game both as a receiver and a running back with already clear chemistry with Mac Jones. Jones was already throwing the ball well and New England’s receivers seemed to be doing well finding pockets of space. The Pats were cruising down the field and McDaniels decides to use Harris for a 23rd time and the rest is history. It’s not nearly as egregious as Pete Carroll throwing instead of running, but you get where my head’s at (hopefully).

Jones ended week 1 with a passer rating of 102.6 throwing for 281 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. If you’re Belichick, McDaniels, and the Patriots, that’s your win. Are the Dolphins the most challenging defense the Pats will see? Absolutely not. However, that’s Mac’s first true test of facing a starting NFL defense, and he held his own.

The schedule, unfortunately, doesn’t get any easier in the next four weeks. With the small exception of their next opponent being the Jets, the Patriots then face the new-era Saints who blew out the Packers, Tom Brady and the Bucs, and then the defensive-heavy Houston Texans. This will, without question, be the biggest test to start the season in recent Patriots history (at least in my mind). I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

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