Patriots QB battle: Cam Newton, Mac Jones both play well in preseason Week 2 win

The New England Patriots were able to pitch a 35-0 shutout over the Philadelphia Eagles as they opened up Week 2 of the preseason on Thursday night. But you don’t care about that. Why would you? It’s the preseason. What you do care about, however, is the quarterback battle currently underway with the Patriots. On that front, it was a strong night for both Cam Newton and first-round rookie Mac Jones as they both held serve as they seemingly spar for the starting spot on Bill Belichick’s team. 

Similar to the preseason opener, it was Newton who received the start and the incumbent played the first three series on the night. The first, however, wasn’t much of a series to write home about after New England’s defense created a turnover inside the Philadelphia 10-yard line, which set up a Damien Harris rushing touchdown. It was Newton’s final two series where he really impressed with his arm. He completed 8 of 9 passes for 103 yards, which included a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers. 

Newton displayed solid zip on his passes and seemed to be much more fluid within the pocket, specifically climbing the ladder when the pressure started to wrap around him. Not only did he show poise in the pocket, but Newton’s deep ball was noticeably better on Thursday night and arguably the best it’s been in a Patriots uniform. He began the game completing passes that traveled 18, 23 and 10 yards and continued to look sharp after that run. That type of play was only shown in flashes (Week 2 vs. Seattle, for example) throughout Newton’s first season in New England. 

It’s worth pointing out that the Eagles elected to sit most of their star defensive players, but it was a strong night from Newton regardless. 

Meanwhile, Jones came in to relieve Newton at the start of the second quarter and was able to carry the solid momentum from his preseason debut last week against Washington into this contest. During his four possessions under center, Jones went 13 of 19 passing for 146 yards. Of those six incompletions, there were three drops and a spike mixed in, which paints an even cleaner night for the Alabama product. One hiccup for him was a bit of clock mismanagement to end the first half, but that’s almost to be expected with a young quarterback. 

So what does Thursday’s game mean for the quarterback competition? 

First, I think we need to clarify what we mean when we say…