Bill Belichick said he “didn’t feel like” challenging a play in the first quarter of Mac Jones’ preseason debut. Jones threw a pass for an incompletion to Jakobi Meyers, who clearly caught the ball after a quick look at the replay. If Belichick wanted, he probably could have gotten an easy first down.
But that’s not what Belichick wanted. He wanted to see Jones handle a hard situation. Belichick wanted to throw adversity — frustrating and maybe even unnecessary — the rookie’s way to see how the young quarterback managed it. So on the following play, Jones converted a third-and-6 with a 7-yard pass to receiver Kristian Wilkerson. And Belichick got what he wanted: a first down and, more importantly, a first-round pick who passed his first test of the preseason.
By most measurements, that’s what Jones did on Thursday night in New England’s 22-13 win over the Washington Football Team. Jones passed the Patriots’ (and Washington’s) tests.