New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has been racking up a bunch of dirty plays in his young career and that continued in Week 16 when he dove at the legs of Bengals DB Eli Apple during a fumble return that was later ruled intentional grounding.
The NFL should suspended Jones for doing that but he’s likely just going to be fined, which is a shame. He now has four dirty plays on his NFL resume and this stuff really needs to stop.
The second-year QB out of Alabama talked about the play during a Boston sports radio appearance on Monday and his description was pretty lame:
“Obviously, I went down in front of him to kind of get in the way, to stop him from slowing down Tyquan, who obviously could make the tackle there,” Jones said. “Just kind of went down in front of him and tried to stop a fast guy from getting to another fast guy. Just a split-second decision, and there’s a lot that goes into it. You’re out there trying to compete, and it’s a physical game, so just trying to help the team win.
“I have all the respect for Eli and the Bengals. They played a great game. There’s no hard feelings and definitely no intention to hurt anybody on that play, nor do I believe that when I’m playing quarterback that’s what (the defense is trying to do). I get hit a lot, too. We’re all out there playing hard, and it’s just part of the game.”
I’m sure Apple has some hard feelings for Jones, and rightfully so. Look at this play and tell me why Jones had to dive at his legs:
Not sure about this move from Mac Jones. pic.twitter.com/NlXdkknko8
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) December 24, 2022
Yeah, that still makes no sense at all.
NFL fans had reactions.
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