Mac Jones Offers Up Lame Excuse For Why He Made ''Dirty'' Play Against Bengals
The NFL is looking into an incident from Saturday's game where New England quarterback Mac Jones appeared to dive at the feet of Bengals cornerback Eli Apple.
During the Patriots' 22-18 loss to the Bengals in Week 16, Cincinnati defender Germaine Pratt recovered a New England fumble and tried to run it back to the end zone for a touchdown.
On the runback following the recovery, Pratt was trailed by Patriots receiver Tyquan Thornton, and Jones also sprinted in that direction with hopes of catching him. By the time Jones reached the 26-yard line, he dropped to the ground in front of Apple, who was also sprinting down the field.
After the game, a 22-18 Bengals win, Apple told NESN.com: "He tripped me. I thought it was a dirty play. He's done that before; I've seen it."
Jones explained his view of the play during his radio interview Monday.
"I went down in front of him to kind of get in the way to stop him from slowing down Tyquan, who obviously could make the tackle there," he said on WEEI. "So just went down in front of him, trying to stop a fast guy from getting to another fast guy.
"It's a split-second decision, and a lot goes into it. You're out there trying to compete; it's a physical game. So just trying to help the team win.
"I have all the respect for Eli and the Bengals. They played a great game. So, there are no hard feelings and no intention to hurt anybody on that play. Nor do I believe that when I'm playing quarterback, that's what [the defense intends to do]; I get hit a lot, too. We're all out there playing hard. It's just part of the game."
