Patriots QB Mac Jones shows frustration with play calling

Through the lens of TV, the transition Mac Jones is making to a new offensive coaching staff in his second season with the Patriots is not going well.

To understand that, all anyone has to do is watch Jones berate Patriots offensive coordinator Matt Patricia during two recent sideline rants. Jones was upset about the direction of the game plans, which lean toward short throws rather than taking more chances downfield.

Jones addressed the outburst on his weekly New England radio appearance and wasn’t about to back down.

“I think football is an emotional sport,” he said. “I like to show my passion on the field. We’re out there to win and do everything we can to win. Sometimes we’ve just gotta put together a better performance.”

It’s a continuation of the season-long backward step Jones and the Patriots’ offense have taken during the transition from Josh McDaniels to Patricia as the coordinator and play-caller.

And it makes one wonder what version of the Patriots’ offense the Raiders will see Sunday when they host New England at Allegiant Stadium.

“They do different things each week against the opponent based on what they think gives them the best chance to win,” McDaniels said. “And it’s very challenging because what you see on tape is not necessarily what you’re going to get.”

McDaniels left the Patriots in January to take the Raiders’ head coaching job. Rather than hire a noted offensive mind to continue the development of Jones, Patriots coach Bill Belichick opted for Patricia, who had never called plays or coordinated an offense in his 17 NFL coaching seasons.

It was a curious decision. Yes, the Patriots are 7-6 and have the final spot in the seven-team AFC playoff race. But they have done it despite an offense averaging the NFL’s 18th-most points and a quarterback with the 28th-ranked QB rating.

Hence, the frustration Jones has shown. The most recent occurred Monday against the Cardinals, a game the Patriots ended up winning.

“I thought we all did a good job trying to play the next play, play the next series, and Matt did a great job,” Jones said. “He’s trying to call the game so that we can win.”

To his credit, when asked about Jones’ outburst, Patricia said: “I love it.”

Again, Jones is not backing down, regardless of how it might look.

“It’s football, right? It’s part of the game,” he said. “We’re all out there competing, and we’re trying to win and make things work. So you’ve gotta work through all the problems and solutions.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.