After Yesterday’s Patriots Game Instead of Feeling Mad, I Feel Bad for Mac Jones

Oh I'm sure I'll be metaphorically slaughtered for this article, but I'm prepared. I feel very badly for Mac Jones.

I know, I know. This season has sucked. The Patriots have the worst record that they've had since the pre-Brady era. Watching Pats games this season has been more frustrating than fun and a major focus when considering the reasons for the wheels falling off has been the quarterback position and Mac Jones.

That interception Mac threw in the fourth quarter in Germany on Sunday morning while his receiver was wide open in the endzone was painful to watch. So why am I feeling some sort of way about Mac Jones today? Compassion.

Trust me, I understand if you're a massive New England Patriots fan who looks at it like a machine - we build to win. I get that. It's sports. And big big business sports. But in the end the sport is played by human beings, no matter how elite of athletes they are - no matter how long and hard they've been preparing for this level of play, they're still human beings.

When I saw Mac Jones on the sideline after that 4th quarter interception, a ton of human perspective hit me. Mac Jones was likely a kid with a dream. I'm not interested in researching his childhood but let's assume that at some point in his life he became enthralled by football. If nothing else, at some point his dream became playing in the NFL and leading a team successfully - maybe even to a Super Bowl. Yesterday I really felt a person's disappointment when they realized their dream wasn't working out the way they hoped and thought it would.

This isn't to say that Mac won't realize his dreams elsewhere, or perhaps given time here in New England (though it currently seems unlikely). But that's a tough pill to swallow. I've personally had to swallow something similarly before. I thought I was realizing my dreams only to realize that I didn't have the skills within me to accomplish what I thought most of my life that I eventually would. It was embarrassing, it was disappointing. I thought people were laughing at me and mocking me behind my back, turns out less cared than I thought - but to me it was center-of-the-universe at the time.

And my situation was something that mattered millions and millions of dollars less than Mac Jones'. I can only imagine the peace he is trying to make today.

I personally do not think Mac Jones is the right quarterback for the New England Patriots currently. But... I really hope Mac Jones, the human, is doing ok.

Last weekend, the Patriots surprisingly wore silver pants with their blue home jersey in a big win over the Buffalo Bills. They wore the throwback red and white combination in week two vs. the Miami Dolphins. In all, the Patriots have sported four different uniform combinations this year. So which one is the best?

Before we get into the debate, let's break it down. The standard blue on blue became the official new look in 2020. This look was featured as an alternate during Tom Brady's last season. At this time, the blue on blue was considered the team's "color rush" set. The new Nike uniform kit style often calls for the pants to be the same color as the jersey. In addition, many teams opt for one pant color in both the home and away uniform set. This holds true for the current Patriots look, where the blue pants are also worn with the road white jersey.

This is always a fan favorite. The throwback uniform set features the red and white combination. "The current throwback is modeled after the uniform that the team wore from 1984 through 1992," the Patriots explained. Though the team lost to the Dolphins 24-17 during their first game wearing the throwbacks, they will wear this combination again during their week 13 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

On Saturday, October 21, the Patriots first teased the return of the silver pants at home in a social media post. At this time, most fans were unaware the classic silver would worn by the team the very next day. For those who believe in superstitions, perhaps the silver was a good luck charm. Not many people picked the Patriots to defeat the Bills in this AFC East battle.

"This will be the first time this season that the Pats have worn the silver/grey pants with the blue jerseys, and only the second time overall since introducing their current uni set in 2020," Uni-Watch explained.

With ten games remaining, it's safe to assume we will see the standard home and away look for each game except the Chargers matchup. So, let's rank which of the fours uniform options the Patriots have worn in 2023 is the best overall look.

Not many teams have turned their previous "color rush" uniform into their permanent home look. While, it's a nice coincidence this style represented a new chapter in the team's history, with the entrance of Mac Jones replacing Tom Brady, there's nothing striking here. It's certainly modern and includes Nike's latest breathable and stretch technology, however. The Patriots did win their first game of the season in this combination on the road vs. the Jets in week three.

Believe it or not, we are seven games deep into the season and the Patriots have only worn this combination once. This was the set at Las Vegas on October 15, when the team lost to the Raiders 21-17. Nonetheless, this is not a bad away look. The strong red outlines really stand out and accent the numerals. The white on blue also is similar to the 2000-2019 dynasty road whites.

The only reason this legendary uniform style is not number one is because we know it's just that, the throwback. As you have already seen with the Eagles wearing their Kelly Green, and the Bucs wearing their Creamsicles, the NFL has made a strong initiative for teams to throw these uniforms into the mix as a special edition, up to twice per season. So this sharp-looking red and white with "Patriot Pat" on the helmet will remain in that "special" category.

This best represents the six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots. In fact, the team wore this color combination in their Super Bowl victories over the Rams and Panthers (white on blue was worn for the other four). Last week, there was much feedback on the decision to wear the silver pants at home, where fans were in favor of this look coming back for good. It's classic with a slight modern upgrade. There has not been any mention of whether or not the silver pants will be back again this season. With the way the game vs. the Bills went, it should be strongly considered.