Julian Edelman points finger at Mac Jones for holding back Patriots from winning

The New England Patriots find themselves in an unfamiliar spot four weeks into the 2023 NFL season. The Patriots are 1-3 and seem likely to miss the playoffs for a second straight season.

Third-year quarterback Mac Jones has been regressing each season, playing terribly this season. He is completing just 63.7% of passes while throwing 898 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 80.8, which is worse than any of the two seasons he's had.

The Patriots were steamrolled by the Dallas Cowboys 38-3 on Sunday. Jones had one of the worst games of his career, completing 12 of 21 passes for 150 yards, no touchdowns and two picks.

On the Ringer, former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman spoke about the Pats' struggles, singling out Jones for holding the team back:

"You can't go out and do what he did. That was bad football. You can't throw late across the field twice in four plays, and the first time he got away with it. He's very out of sync right now. This is a quarterback league. You have to have a quarterback that fits your system to win games.

"And right now Mac hasn't been developing at the rate that they want. He's still having rookie-type throws, regardless of how the team is. The defense has been there these last three years. They're not playing the way they should be playing to win football games, and it comes down to the quarterback."

Could the New England Patriots move on from Mac Jones after the 2023-2024 season?

Mac Jones of the New England Patriots

The New England Patriots selected Mac Jones at No. 15 in the 2021 NFL draft.

As a rookie, it looked like he could be their next franchise quarterback after Tom Brady. He led New England to the playoffs with a 10-7 record while throwing for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns with a passer rating of 92.5.

Since then, he's gone 7-11 as a starter, including a 1-3 start to this season. He was benched last week for backup quarterback Bailey Zappe against the Dallas Cowboys.

Jones will be under contract until the end of next season if the Patriots decide to not pick up his fifth-year option this offseason.

If Jones doesn't flip the script for the rest of the season, the Patriots could move on from him sooner rather than later.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Julian Edelman and The Ringer, and H/T Sportskeeda.