Now with a few days of space and some typical NFL injury nonsense, this is what we know about Mac Jones, his injury and the Patriots:
- Jones suffered a severe high left ankle sprain against the Ravens. He has sought a second opinion, and it doesn't appear he has had surgery yet;
- With surgery, the earliest Jones could be back is 2-4 weeks. If he does not have surgery, it could be anywhere between a month and two months.
- Bill Belichick put a little heat on Jones today in his press conference. "Saw Mac a little while ago. Definitely getting better. Probably won't practice today but made a lot of progress here in the last, whatever, 48 hours. So keep plugging away. Take that day-by-day. See how it goes. And that's where we're at for today.”
- Basically, that's Belichick saying, "You don't want to get the surgery? Fine, then we expect you to get out there as soon as you can. And it better be quick."
- Jones is almost definitely out for the Packers game, and Belichick said Brian Hoyer would get the start over Bailey Zappe.
- Jones is mostly likely to miss at least four games. The most likely scenario, especially if Jones takes a Rob Gronkowski-like approach of approving his own return given the way Jones views how the offense has been handled dating back to the offseason, might be to keep Jones out until after the bye week and have him start Nov. 20 against the Jets. That would give him seven weeks of rest.
- We'll know a lot more this weekend when the Patriots could move Jones to short-term IR. What would keep Jones out a minimum of four weeks, which would mean a return at the Jets on Oct. 30 at the earliest.
- Oh, and we had some Belichick theater today. "Day-by-day. Day-by-day. That's the plan. Day-by-day. ... Day-by-day. What do I look like? A doctor. An orthopedic surgeon. I don't know. Talk to the medical experts. ... Yeah, it's getting better day-by-day. We'll see how it is tomorrow. It's a lot better than it was yesterday. We'll see."
Look, all this injury stuff is just window dressing. The bottom line is this: no matter how many games Jones misses, no one's expectations about these Patriots should change.
If they're still the Patriots. If Belichick is still the best coach in the league. If his coordinators, Matt Patricia, Steve Belichick and Cam Achord, are as good as the confidence Belichick has shown in them.
Anyone who was a realist had the Patriots losing this weekend at Green Bay to fall to 1-3. The Patriots would have been 2-2 if things went really well, especially the coaching (it has not). You're either coaching it, or you're allowing it to happen.
Remember what Belichick said about Jones before the training camp?
"I think there's a dramatic improvement," Belichick said. "His physical work and conditioning, working on his mechanics, working on his footwork, working on his understanding of our offense, of opponents' defenses, the situations -- all those things."
That same quarterback has gone from leading the Patriots to 10 wins and being a Pro Bowl alternate, to being 31st in the league in passer rating, ahead of only Justin Fields of the Bears, and needing x-rays after two of the three games this season. Wonder what the difference is this year.
Back to this season.
So the Patriots will likely be 1-3 after this game, where they were likely to land before things got started.
And then they need to make hay against the soft part of their schedule:
vs. Lions
Yes, the Lions are playing hard for Dan Campbell and are second in scoring offense. But their defense is also last in points allowed. It's at home. The Patriots should win to improve to 2-3.
at Browns
They are 2-1, but have only beaten the Panthers and Steelers — and lost to the Jets. They are starting backup Jacoby Brissett. The Patriots should win the battle of backups to get to .500.
vs. Bears
Chicago is 2-1, but they are freaking horrible. If you lose this game, the Patriots should just tank the rest of the season. Now they're 4-3.
at Jets
I don't care if Zach Wilson is back or not. If the Jets have passed your overall operation, even with a backup if Jones isn't back, hello basement. The Patriots should be 5-3.
vs. Colts
This was going to be a toss-up game, a swing game for the season, even with Jones. You win if you're good.
vs. Jets
New York at home. Should make you 6-4 or 7-3.
at Vikings
Who knows what Minnesota will be at this point? Like the Colts, another swing game.
Then comes the tough close to the season in the final six games.
The bottom line is there's no reason why the Patriots shouldn't climb over .500 around the time Jones returns — if this is a good enough operation from top to bottom.
This is what I expect of them, and you should as well.
INJURY UPDATE
Today's injury report featured Jones and Lawrence Guy out, while Kyle Dugger and Jakobi Meyers returned:
DID NOT PARTICIPATE
QB Mac Jones - Ankle
DL Lawrence Guy - Shoulder
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
S Joshuah Bledsoe - Groin
OL Yodny Cajuste - Thumb
S Kyle Dugger - Knee
DL Davon Godchaux - Back
LB Raekwon McMillan - Thumb
WR Jakobi Meyers, Knee
CB Jalen Mills, Hamstring
S Adrian Phillips - Ribs