LOOK: Tyrann Mathieu unleashes epic slam of Mac Jones critics
Tyrann Mathieu and Mac Jones aren’t teammates. Mathieu is a safety for the Kansas City Chiefs while Jones is the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback. Additionally, Mathieu played college football at LSU while Jones played at Alabama. But the LSU-Alabama rivalry wasn’t enough to stop Mathieu from vehemently defending Jones on Tuesday morning.
“Mac Jones wasn’t trendy enough for y’all at first huh now y’all love him,” Mathieu tweeted. “Man, y’all funny!!! Day in and day out!!! Y’all should be on Comedy Central.”
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky responded to Mathieu, agreeing with him by saying, “Yup yup.”
Mathieu then elaborated on his defense of Jones.
“He don’t throw side arm or run fast so people knocked him,” he said. “Dude can play QB! Period.”
Jones was the fifth quarterback taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, going 15th overall to New England. The first three picks of the draft were all quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence went first to Jacksonville, Zach Wilson was second to the Jets and the 49ers took Trey Lance third overall. Justin Fields was selected 11th overall by the Chicago Bears.
Mathieu was drafted out of LSU in 2013 in the third round. He started his career with the Arizona Cardinals, playing there from 2013-2017. Mathieu then spent a year with the Houston Texans but is currently in his third year with Kansas City.
Mac Jones looks like the best rookie quarterback this season
The Patriots have won four games in a row and five out of their last six to improve to 6-4 on the season. Jones’ numbers aren’t always flashy, but he has by far been the most consistent and efficient rookie quarterback in the NFL this season.
Coming into the season, a lot of the hype surrounding rookie quarterbacks went to the four that were selected before Jones. As Mathieu mentioned, Jones didn’t get a lot of love until he started playing at a high level.
On the season, Jones has completed 69 percent of his passes for 2,333 yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Jones is coming off of a career best performance, where he completed 82.6 percent of his passes for three touchdowns in a 45-7 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Mathieu’s Chiefs and Jones’ Patriots are both currently in AFC playoff spots. The Chiefs hold a narrow lead in the AFC West. Kansas City is 6-4, but the Chargers (5-4), Raiders (5-4), and Broncos (5-5) are close behind. The Patriots are 6-4, trailing the 6-3 Buffalo Bills for first in the AFC East. While the Chiefs and Patriots could very well end up battling for a wildcard spot, that didn’t stop Mathieu from defending Jones.