Mac Jones found a way to get sacked on a fake spike trick play

Mac Jones turned a fake spike into -4 yards.

Things are going very, very badly for the New England Patriots.

New England walked into halftime of its Wild Card showdown with the Buffalo Bills trailing 27-3. Every single drive Josh Allen led ended in a touchdown. He embarrassed the Patriots’ top five defense through the air. He embarrassed the Patriots’ top five defense on the ground.

But somehow, New England’s most embarrassing moment of the first half of a desolate playoff game wasn’t thanks to a sieve-like defense. It was thanks to rookie quarterback Mac Jones trying to employ a bit of trickery, then bombing on stage like an R-rated hypnotist at an AA meeting.

Behold, a fake spike that failed to stop the clock while resulting in -4 yards.

Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes wasn’t fooled by Jones’ fake throw. Right tackle Trent Brown may have been. He let the veteran pass rusher by to exploit the biggest weakness of the rookie quarterback’s game — his ability to escape pressure in the pocket. Jones had no chance, and second-and-eight became third-and-12.

The Patriots recovered by converting a fourth-and-five two plays later and kicked a field goal to make the score 27-3 at the half. That’s tougher to swallow than Jones’ inability to sell the fake spike, but not by much.