New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is having the best start among the Class of 2021 quarterbacks.
He leads all rookie play-callers in completions, completion percentage, passing yards, and touchdowns through seven weeks.
He also leads them in passing yards per game, quarterback rating, and wins.
More importantly, Jones already has three wins while Justin Fields has two.
Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson have one victory apiece.
First career 300-yard game.@MacJones_10 | #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/jgRf5dFMav
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 24, 2021
However, all of New England’s wins were against weaker teams.
Two of those victories were against New York Jets, wherein Wilson left their second encounter early due to injury.
Meanwhile, the Patriots’ remaining victory was against fellow rookie Davis Mills and the Houston Texans.
Therefore, Jones doesn’t have a signature victory in the NFL yet.
He could establish his claim as the rightful starter for head coach Bill Belichick with a win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Battle Of Two Number 10s
If the Patriots had a dominating win against the Jets, the Chargers had a disappointing defeat at Baltimore’s hands before their bye week.
Before that 34-6 defeat, the Chargers were rolling, defeating teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, and Cleveland Browns.
Leading the Chargers’ attack is last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert.
That loss to the Ravens was an aberration on the excellent season he is having.
This throw from Justin Herbert… #BoltUp
📺: #DALvsLAC on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/aPqqd0BBnE— NFL (@NFL) September 19, 2021
He already has three 300-yard passing games to go with 14 touchdowns.
At 4-2, the Chargers are one game behind the Raiders for the AFC West lead.
As an additional challenge, the Patriots will be playing on the road.
However, defeating the Chargers would be a bold statement for Jones that he is more than someone who can bully weaker teams.
The Chargers are one of the AFC’s strongest contenders, and a road victory would boost his quarterback rankings.
How big is the difference between Mac Jones & Justin Herbert?@philaperry is breaking it down ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NYvkS7Dbmd
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) October 27, 2021
New England’s win would also pressure their division rival Buffalo Bills at the top of the AFC East.
But defeating the Chargers will be a tall order, not just because of their high-powered offense but because of their pass defense.
Derwin James and Kyzir White are ball hawks that Jones must account for on every snap.
The Chargers also allow the fourth-fewest passing yards at 201.8 per game.
However, it would be wise for Jones to establish their run game because the Chargers have the worst run defense, surrendering 162.5 yards per game.
Mac Against The Pack
The former Alabama standout is gaining confidence in making longer throws.
Only ten percent of his attempts during the first five weeks were for 20 yards or more.
On Sunday, Mac Jones became the fourth rookie quarterback all-time with at least 225 passing yards and a touchdown pass in five consecutive games, joining Dak Prescott (eight in 2016), Justin Herbert (seven in 2020) and Deshaun Watson (five in 2017), per NFL release.
— Oliver Thomas (@OliverBThomas) October 25, 2021
That rate increased to 15.8 percent over their last two games.
Without question, Herbert will stretch the field against the Patriots with the help of receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen.
Therefore, Jones must fight back every time they have the ball and challenge the Chargers’ defense to claim his breakout victory.
NEXT: Can The Patriots Actually Contend In The AFC East?