Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers, Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones may be the only one not focused on Tom Brady.
“It’s not like one person versus one person, so I think that a lot of it is 11 on 11, and that’s what goes into it, and that’s how they’re going to look at it,” Jones said Wednesday, via NBCSportsBoston.com, about the quarterback matchup with Brady.
“That’s how every team looks at it. It’s just you’re getting a chance to compete in a primetime game, and it just kind of is what it is.”
The Patriots drafted Jones with the No. 15 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and the Alabama product beat out veteran Cam Newton for the starting job this preseason.
Brady told reporters Thursday that he “hasn’t seen much at all” of Jones on the field.
The former Patriots quarterback — who won six Super Bowl rings in New England, where he played for 20 years — added that despite his longtime friendships in the organization, “They know I want to kick their butt this week.”
Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium will mark his first time back in New England since leaving for Tampa Bay in free agency in March 2020.
Jones took a page out of coach Bill Belichick‘s book — which includes his longtime “Do you job” philosophy — while discussing the matchup against Brady and the Buccaneers, which is the most anticipated NFL regular season game in recent memory.
“I think it just goes back to really with pressure, you just got to focus on doing what you’re supposed to do, and people who have jobs in high-pressure situations, that’s what they do,” Jones said.
“They do their job really well, and they prepare really hard, so it’s all you can control, and once the hay is in the barn, the hay is in the barn, and you just got to go play, and I think everyone will be excited, and we’re just going to be ready to play when it happens.”
Jones had a solid start to the season while splitting AFC East matchups against the Dolphins (loss) and Jets (win). In Week 3, though, Jones was intercepted three times, was sacked twice and hit 11 times in a 28-3 loss to the Saints. He finished 30 of 51 for 270 yards and a touchdown.
Brady, meanwhile, has showed no signs of slowing down in his 22nd season at age 44. He’s propelled the Bucs to a 2-1 start, after leading Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl win in his first season with the team.