Mac Jones has played in a lot of big football games, including the national championship in 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. However, he has never competed in an atmosphere more electric than it was at Gillette Stadium when Tom Brady returned as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to face the New England Patriots.
The day was October 3, 2021.
Jones was the rookie quarterback taking over the reins for one of the greatest franchises in NFL history. Yet, despite all of the promise that he showed in his first NFL season, the storyline of the game was being built around Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Who was more responsible for the NFL’s greatest dynasty? The greatest quarterback of all time was finally about to go head-to-head with the greatest coach.
It was a heavyweight fight between two opposed legends, and Jones viewed it through the eyes of a rookie with nothing to lose.
“That was lit. That was awesome because they were calling it ‘the game of the century.’ I just feel like the lead-up was really cool,” Jones said on Bussin’ With The Boys. “It was a night game, like sold out. Tickets were going for about four or five thousand dollars, whatever. Everybody was hyping it in the media.
“I try to stay off social media during the season and stuff. So you know, it’s all about Tom, Tom and Tom. And I’m like, ‘[Expletive], I’ve got nothing to lose here. I’m just going to go out there and sling it.’ And I did. I played decently well in that stadium. That was the most electric stadium I’ve been in because it was a good game, back and forth. They ended up scoring late or whatever. We really could have won.”
The Buccaneers were the defending Super Bowl champions at the time, and they ended up coming out on top in a 19-17 victory.
Brady went 22-of-43 passing for 269 yards, while Jones was 31-of-40 passing for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. It ended with Nick Foles missing a 56-yard field goal attempt in the rain.
Jones was asked if he had any interactions with Brady during the game. It was about as much as you’d expect from a newcomer competing against a legendary quarterback with seven Super Bowl rings.
“He stared at me, I don’t know,” Jones said while laughing.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mac Jones’ blunt description of Tom Brady interaction in Patriots-Bucs
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