Former Patriots QB Mac Jones Breaks Down What Facing Tom Brady Was Like
Do you remember where you were when Tom Brady returned to play the New England Patriots for the first time back in 2021?
Mac Jones certainly does.
The then-rookie quarterback for the Patriots went up against Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth game of his young NFL career, going toe-to-toe with the future Patriots Hall of Famer.
Recalling that game this week on Bussin' With The Boys, Jones -- who's now the backup for the San Francisco 49ers -- broke down what that night, and week leading up to kickoff, was like for him.
"That was lit. That was awesome," he said. "They were calling it the game of the century. I just feel like the lead up was really cool. It was a night game, sold out. Tickets were going for like, four, five thousand dollars."
Jones came in with the goals to replace Brady as the longterm answer at the quarterback position in New England (though he did crack jokes about how he technically replaced Cam Newton after one season). The 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft had been coming off a national title at Alabama and brought plenty of promise to New England.
Mac Jones Had The Buccaneers On The Ropes
His first few games were alright -- the team was 1-2 at the time heading into the Buccaneers game -- but that's when the flip switched.
"It's all about Tom and Tom and Tom and I'm like, 's---, I got nothing to lose here,'' he laughed. "I'm just gonna go out and sling it, and I did.
"I played decently well. That stadium, that was the most electric stadium I've been in because it was a good game back and forth."
The Patriots almost pulled off the stunner, trailing by two points in what was a Brady-like come-from-behind drive. In the rain, Jones had gotten the team as close as he could before the Patriots had a shot to win it with a minute to play.
"Nick Folk barely missed a 50-something yard field goal in the rain," Jones said, later mentioning how a drop (it was later relayed to him that it was a tipped pass) could have set them up closer.
"It Felt Video Game-Ish"
From the expensive tickets to the crazy traffic pre-game, it was a whirlwind for the rookie quarterback tasked with trying to replace the greatest of all time.
Was it tough?
"I remember leading up to that game, I tried to minimize all the distractions," said Jones, who mentioned that Brady stared him down pre-game. "It definitely felt video game-ish ... It was cool just walking out there. He had signs for him, and then I still had some signs and jerseys. It was just cool."
Jones slept at the stadium all day in a private room with an air mattress. He got to Gillette Stadium early to get mentally prepared for the Sunday Night Football battle -- "I rested hard that day, I rested really hard," he laughed.
The quarterback spent three years in New England before eventually getting traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of the 2024 season. His tenure with the Patriots, coupled with the success that now-starter Drake Maye is having with the new coaching regime, often leads to dark clouds over Jones' stint with the team.
Despite that, the 27-year-old is thankful for parts of his journey with the Patriots, and what it was like following in Brady's larger-than-life footsteps.
"Replacing Tom was definitely a narrative, and I try not to pay attention to it," Jones said. "I'm not Tom Brady, I never will be. He's the best player to ever play. It was tough."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Former Patriots QB Mac Jones Breaks Down What Facing Tom Brady Was Like.
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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM.