Mike ReissESPN Staff Writer September 27, 2023, 1:01 PM ET3 minutes read
Mad Dog puts the drought between the Jets and Patriots into perspective
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo talks about what’s happened since the New York Jets’ last win against the New England Patriots.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones wasn’t interested in revisiting New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner’s claim that he gave him a low blow, a topic that continued three days after the 15: The team’s 10 win was still in play at MetLife Stadium.
Jones told reporters Wednesday that he’s just looking forward to Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox).
“I was really focused on the Cowboys and trying to prepare for a good defense. That’s my focus – trying to control the forces that can be controlled,” Jones said. “I’m looking forward to just building up this week. We have training today. We have training tomorrow and Friday.” [Then a] Play in a great stadium with a great football culture. I’m kind of looking forward to that.”
Jones, who has been accused of cheap shots in the past, had previously responded to Gardner’s comments.
He said he got back up after a hard tackle on a quarterback sneak and told the defense “good job.” He said the area in which he made contact with Gardner was unintentional.
Gardner’s claim, along with Jones being fined twice last season for unnecessary roughness and once for unsportsmanlike conduct, has renewed questions about Jones’ on-field reputation in the NFL.
His teammates also deflected the topic on Wednesday.
“Look, I didn’t really look at it closely. “I was in the middle of a dog pile and after the QB tackle there were like 12 other people on top of us, so I didn’t really see anything,” David said Andrews. “So you can ask Mac about it.”
Tight end Hunter Henry added: “I’m focused on the Cowboys and just trying to focus on this week. That’s in the past, so I’m just focused on what we need to do this week.”
Former Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who was Jones’ teammate during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, was more direct when asked about what transpired Sunday.
“I won’t call Mac a dirty player because I know him personally and I think he’s a good guy, he’s a good boy. But I will say he needs to stop being involved with these incidents,” McCourty said on sports radio WEEI. The Greg Hill Show.
“It doesn’t matter what a former teammate says, the current teammate says; is it intentional, did that happen, is it intentional? It won’t matter because once you get involved in too many of these situations, that’s what it is. We can’t come back and say, “No, this is what it was intended for.”
“There are a lot of players who have played this game and they are not involved in any of these things. I think he needs to do a better job…somewhere along the line of his competitive advantage, he’s doing things that you never actually need to be on the football field.