Doug Pederson: Mac Jones has done “extremely well,” but sometimes reverts to Patriots ways

The Jaguars wrapped up their preseason schedule on Friday night with Mac Jones making his final case to be the No. 2 quarterback behind Trevor Lawrence.

Jones had been competing with C.J. Beathard this summer, but Beathard missed the game with a groin injury and Jones made a strong argument for himself by going 13-of-18 for 113 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons. That kind of success eluded Jones as a member of the Patriots, but Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said it was in line with what the team has seen from him this summer.

Pederson did note that the bad habits from New England still seep into his game on occasion, however.

“Mac has played extremely well in the last couple of weeks and has really bought into what we do,” Pederson said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “He’ll still revert back to his Patriots ways every now and then, and we have to remind him he’s in Jacksonville. But he’s done a good job managing and running the offense, getting everybody involved. He sees the field well, throws a good ball, so he’s done a good job.”

The Jaguars would prefer to have Lawrence in the lineup for the entire 2024 season, but they’ll hope to eradicate any memory of the Patriots from Jones’s play in the event they have to hand him the keys to the offense.