Patriots rookie Mac Jones was one of five quarterbacks selected in the first round of April’s NFL draft and all five made their professional debuts Sunday.
Three of them — Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, New York’s Zach Wilson and Jones — started, while Trey Lance of the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago’s Justin Fields had smaller roles.
Here’s how Jones’ performance stacked up with the rest of them:
* Jones was 29-for-39 for 281 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked one time and fumbled the ball, but teammate Jonnu Smith recovered it. Among the rookies who started, Jones had the highest quarterback rating at 102.6.
* Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the entire draft, was better in the second half after throwing two of his three interceptions before halftime. Overall, he completed 28-of-51 passes for 332 yards, the most among rookies, three touchdowns and three interceptions. His rating was 70.1 as the Jaguars were beaten soundly by a Houston Texans team that was expected to struggle.
* Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick, was under pressure throughout as the Jets’ lost offensive tackle Mekhi Becton early. Wilson finished 20-for-37 for 258 yards. He had two touchdowns and one interception and was sacked six times in a 19-14 loss. His rating was 82.9. He was outplayed by Carolina QB Sam Darnold, the Jets’ last would-be savior at QB.
* Trey Lance’s role this season is evolving as Jimmy Garoppolo is still the 49ers’ No. 1 quarterback. Jimmy G did nothing to surrender that role completing 17 of 25 throws for 314 yards and a TD. Lance completed the only pass he threw for a 5-yard touchdown and carried the ball three times for two yards.
* Fields, like Lance, was used in specific spots even though Bears fans were clamoring for him to take over for starter Andy Dalton. Fields completed his only two pass attempts for a combined 10 yards and ran once for a 3-yard touchdown.
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