Mac Jones on Throwing 3 Passes: “I’m just trying to win”

Mac Jones made his Monday Night Football debut as the New England Patriots held onto a 14-10 victory over the Buffo Bills. Jones attempted just three passes and handed the ball off 41 times as horrible weather conditions struck Western New York. The temperature reached 23 degree wind chill, 25-35 mile per hour winds and 50-55 mph gusts.

The three passes thrown by the Patriots are the fewest in franchise history and the second-fewest by any team since the Bills in 1974. Jones’ two completions were to Jonnu Smith and Brandon Bolden for 19 yards. The Patriots were the first team since 1978 to attempt just one pass in the first half.

"It doesn't matter how many times you run it or throw it, as long as you win, everyone's gonna be happy," said Jones. “I'm just trying to win. It was good we scored more than the other team, and we did a great job on offense. Josh was just staying calm, and he was calling he plays that he knew that would work. It took all 11 guys. It doesn’t matter how many times you run it or throw it, as long as you win everyone’s going to be happy.”

Jones did become the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win seven consecutive games as a starter in the Super Bowl era, joining Ben Roethlisberger, Dak Prescott and Kyle Orton.

The Patriots leaned heavily on the ground game, Damien Harris opened up the scoring with a 64-yard touchdown run in the first quarter off of a perfectly executed toss sweep, it was the Patriots' longest rushing play since 1998.

Harris reaggravated his hamstring in the third quarter after a 22-yard gain before pulling up and limping out of bounds. He finished the night with 111 yards on 10 carries. The former Alabama running back eclipsed the century mark for the fourth time this season and has scored eight touchdowns in the Patriots last eight games.

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“We have a game plan and obviously that changes a little bit with the elements, but at the end of the day I think we had the looks that we were looking forward to running the ball, and we just kept doing it,” said Jones. “The offensive line created the holes, and those guys did some tough running, not even mentioning the receivers getting in there to block, too. Everyone played a role and it was just great to watch and see everyone have the effort.”

The Patriots reeled off their seventh-straight win as they improved to 9-4. They head into their bye week as the AFC’s top seed.