Who cares if Mac Jones played well, the New England Patriots still lost the game

New England Patriots' QB Mac Jones seemed to not play horribly in Week 1, but who cares? The team lost the game, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. I think at this point, we're past the "moral victories" part with the QB situation. Mac Jones is in his third year and most important year of his NFL career.

He has to play well this year or he will no longer be the starting QB of the New England Patriots. I will give him a pass, for the most part in 2022, since Matt Patricia and that entire situation on offense was just off, but come on now, the Patriots lost the game, and Mac Jones probably could have play better, right?

I think unless you have a rookie QB, the "but he played well" argument simply should not apply. We're not talking about a team who is embracing a rebuild with a rookie QB. It'd be applicable if the Patriots were in the same situation as, let's say, the Houston Texans, who have a rookie QB and who are rebuilding.

You could definitely say use the "but he played well" argument for CJ Stroud if the Texans had lost in this situation. That isn't the case with the New England Patriots. You have a roster that is apparently ready to win now, the greatest NFL head coach of all time, and a strong offensive coordinator, so Mac Jones playing well in spite of the team losing is nothing to talk positively about.

The New England Patriots have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this year, so how long would the fanbase praise Mac Jones for playing well if the Pats keep losing? I think at some point, if the Pats are losing more than winning, we'll need to have a conversation about the viability of Mac Jones as a competent starter in the NFL.