Patriots QB Mac Jones on close losses: ‘I’m learning the hard way’

FOXBORO — Just six games into his NFL career, Mac Jones knows the fine line between a win and a loss in the NFL.

He’s walked it several times, and never more obviously than on Sunday.

Jones threw a pick-six with two and a half minutes left in regulation of the Pats’ eventual 35-29 loss to the Cowboys, then fired a touchdown pass on the very next play from scrimmage. That score, a 75-yard connection with Kendrick Bourne, accounted for more than one-third of his total passing yards and inflated a stat line that had otherwise been limited by solid Dallas defense. The Cowboys largely out-played the Patriots in regulation, but lost the critical moments, such as third downs and plays inside the red zone.

Then, including Jones’ pick and a failed third-down conversion in overtime that led to the Dallas’ game-winning drive, the Pats lost those, too.

“In the NFL it takes maybe three or four bad plays and you lose the game. The margin of error is very slim,” Jones said. “I guess when I have that feeling that something might be going bad, just throw it away, call a timeout or figure it out and just try not to make a bad play worse, so I could have done that tonight better. I think the people around me played really well and we fought really hard, and sometimes you fall short.”

Patriots center David Andrews credited Jones from bouncing back from his interception.

“He’s got some guts, he’s got some gusto. Talk about mental toughness. How do you respond any better than what he just did?” Andrews said. “We needed a play and we got one from him.”

Jones also took a massive shot from Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory, who knocked the ball free on arrival after beating backup right tackle Yodny Cajuste early in the second quarter. Jones insisted the hit didn’t affect him, though the offense ground to a halt until the rookie led a 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. In total, he took two sacks and five hits, despite the Patriots’ tight ends and running backs giving their offensive linemen regular help in pass protection.

Instead of Jones praising his O-linemen for paving the way to victory, the post-game story of Sunday’s win was how Gregory and the Cowboys became the fourth team this season to leave Gillette Stadium with a win.

“Honestly, I felt their O-line couldn’t block me or block any of us as long as they didn’t chip us. At least on the ends, and they did a lot of that,” Gregory said.