Jones, Barmore sign long-term extensions with New England
The New England Patriots have re-signed 2021 draft picks quarterback Mac Jones and defensive lineman Christian Barmore to six year deals worth $216 million and $61.6 million respectively.
Jones' deal makes him the fifth highest paid quarterback starting in 2025 behind Josh Allen ($51.3m), Patrick Mahomes ($46.3m), Lamar Jackson ($45.8m), and Dak Prescott ($34.4m) with $101.8 million of the deal being guaranteed. Jones was the last of the 2021 first round picks at quarterback to sign his extension and his patience and play paid off, netting the most in terms of average salary per year, total guaranteed money and total money.
Barmore's pay day falls short of Quinnen Williams' deal in terms of APY but his deal is longer with more guaranteed money to keep the pro bowl defensive tackle in New England for the foreseeable future.
New England was keen on locking up the jewel of their 2021 draft class which helped put a stop to their drafting woes and the bye week was the the internal deadline to get it done. Another 2021 draft picks that's up for an extension is running back Rhamondre Stevenson whose unfortunately for him having the worst season of his career, averaging a career low 36.2 yards per game after rushing for 1,083 yards last season.
Other news from the bye week:
Smith, Perkins, Malone and Williams back at practice
It was a light week of practice with the bye but still good news that linebacker Jaylon Smith, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and edge rushers Ronnie Perkins and DeAngelo Malone were all active participants and are expected to be back on the field for New England's week eleven clash against the currently undefeated Houston Texans.
Barmore did leave last week's game with an elbow injury that could see him miss a few weeks so Williams' return is especially important now.
OBJ excited to work with Mac, Tomlin
It didn't take long for Odell Beckham Jr. to make his impact felt in his New England debut, playing just 31 snaps but catching six passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Similar to Charleston Rambo, there is a noticeable 'juice' when OBJ is on the field as he is another dynamic playmaker at Mac Jones' disposal to compliment the sure hands of Jakobi Meyers and DeVante Parker's physicality on the outside.
OBJ told the media that he's excited to work with Jones and that New England was one of his preferred destinations due to Mike Tomlin being the head coach. OBJ's role should continue to grow over time and he could be a key part of their game plan against the Texans.
Gave up two 4ths for OBJ and then received a 3rd for Bourne.. nice GMing
i was about to cut him too but then decided to check the trade market for him and surprisingly a lot of teams were interested. it was between him and parris campbell but since im letting bourne walk after this season anyway, figured i'd at least get something back
Injuries
NE IDL Christian Barmore (elbow)
NE RT Trent Brown (thumb)
NE RG Laken Tomlinson (ribs)
NE C Robert Hainsey (abdominal)
NE IDL Akiem Hicks (abdominal)
NE EDGE Quincey Thompkins (elbow)
-------
HOU TE Will Dissly (ankle)
HOU WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (thumb)
HOU G Jamaree Salyer (finger)
Texans undefeated no more in blowout loss to Mac, Patriots
Fresh off a mega extension to make him one of the NFL's highest paid quarterbacks, Mac Jones played like a man possessed in the first half, throwing four long touchdowns before adding a fifth in the third quarter for good measure as New England ended Houston's undefeated season on Sunday in a 40-6 blowout win.
Jones finished with 276 yards passing, completing 69 percent of his passes with his only mistake of the day being a jump ball to Odell Beckham Jr. which ricochet into a defender's hands.
The offense was mostly non-existent for Houston which saw its running attack completely stalled with Darrell Henderson Jr. averaging just 2.2 yards per carry while New England's running game had no such issues with four running backs rushing for over 30 yards and three of them rushing for over 56 yards to the tune of 255 team rushing yards.
While it was a coronation for Mac Jones, it was the biggest hitch in Baker Mayfield's MVP campaign as Mayfield completed 76 percent of his passes but failed to push the ball down the field and get into the endzone. Instead, it was Mayfield's former teammate in Odell Beckham Jr. who twice found the endzone.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[NE] O. Beckham Jr. 22 Yd pass from M. Jones (12:21)
[NE] C. Rambo 44 Yd pass from M. Jones (1:22)
Quarter 2
[NE] C. Rambo 51 Yd pass from M. Jones (7:17)
[NE] J. Meyers 21 Yd pass from M. Jones (1:20)
[HOU] Z. Gonzalez, 17 Yd FG (0:00)
Quarter 3
[NE] O. Beckham Jr. 1 Yd pass from M. Jones (12:23)
[NE] J. Tucker, 48 Yd FG (4:31)
Quarter 4
[NE] Team Safety (10:03)
[HOU] Z. Gonzalez, 42 Yd FG (4:47)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Patriots dominate 49ers but lose at home due to missed kicks
New England dealt with some inconsistent field goal kicking last season which led to them signing likely future Hall of Famer, kicker Justin Tucker to appease those problems.
In a game where New England outgained San Francisco in nearly every category, field goal kicking would prove to be the difference maker with Tucker missing not one, not two, not three but five field goals and an extra point attempt in New England's 9-6 loss to San Francisco on Sunday night.
It all started with the missed extra point kick in the first quarter and continued to snowball for Tucker as two kicks hit the uprights and bounced out while all of his other kicks would sail wide left or wide right.
The most devastating one came in the fourth quarter when New England once again had chance to take the lead after converting on a 3rd and 10 from their own 44-yard line with a 28-yard pass to Odell Beckham Jr. The drive eventually bogged down on the 25-yard line where Tucker would miss the 42-yard field goal, setting up an eight play drive that would result in Joey Slye's 21-yard field goal.
The Patriots would go three and out on their next drive, punting the ball with 4:56 left in the game, allowing San Francisco's ball control offense to run out the rest of the clock.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[SF] J. Slye, 43 Yd FG (7:54)
[NE] O. Beckham Jr. 9 Yd pass from M. Jones -- missed kick(1:47)
Quarter 2
[SF] J. Slye, 31 Yd FG (1:46)
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
[SF] J. Slye, 20 Yd FG (6:16)
---------------------------------------------------------------- San Francisco 49ers
QB Trey Lance: 15 of 25, 168 yards, sacked 4 times, 4 carries, 24 yards.
HB Kareem Hunter: 31 carries, 138 yards.
TE George Kittle: 6 receptions, 48 yards.
WR Deebo Samuel: 3 receptions, 31 yards.
TE Charlie Kolar: 2 receptions, 43 yards.
LB Fred Warner: 12 tackles, 3 tackles for loss.
LB Dre Greenlaw: 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss.
DT Javon Kinlaw: 5 tackles, tackle for loss.
DE Arik Armstead: 4 tackles, tackle for loss.
DT Fletcher Cox: 3 tackles, tackle for loss.