Mac Jones is making the most of his opportunity with the Jaguars

Mac Jones seems to be about as happy as he’s been since his time at Alabama. The Jacksonville native appears to have secured the primary backup quarterback role with the Jaguars. While the competitive streak in him will always desire more playing time, it seems that he understands that he’s in an ideal opportunity to succeed. Mac also seems very appreciative for this chance to reboot his career and most believe he will be a perfect compliment to Trevor Lawrence.

Mac spoke last night after his two touchdown performance in the victory over Tampa Bay

On how does it feel to get the win in front of the hometown crowd?

Mac : Good. Yeah, it was fun. I think going out here with a great team and people that I’ve gotten to know over the past few months has been real fun and [we’ve] just got to keep carrying that momentum and it’s a one-week season—everyone always says that. In the preseason too, you’ve got to stack good days and move on to the next game. So, [I’m] really looking forward to Atlanta next week, too.

So often in the preseason, you want to worry about your own performance, but you kind of have to realize that a lot of the other guys on this roster are relying on you to help them put good stuff on tape as well. Can you talk about that responsibility and being able to put a couple touchdowns on the board for your guys?

Mac: Yeah, I think there’s always things we can clean up and I’ve been very fortunate to be a starter and not have to play, and then also in this situation having to play. But I always want to be on the field and these guys always want to be on the field. So, I know it means a lot to a lot of people and we’re going to show passion and energy. I thought the young guys in the offensive line did a good job overall and the starters did a good job on the sideline communicating. That’s another thing you look for in those situations like [QB] Trevor [Lawrence] and everybody, and [WR] Christian [Kirk] and [WR] Gabe [Davis]. So, I thought it was good for all of us to come together and win.

Was it a little bit of a mixed bag in terms of protection tonight? But on the two touchdown passes, you did get the time?

Mac: Yeah, yeah, but I mean, it’s a tough defense. They’re going to light us up a little bit and they did a good job. Sometimes in preseason, they don’t bring blitzes and sometimes they don’t really care. So, you’re going to get both in every game, and I expected it. I planned for it, we all planned for it. I took a few sacks, like I fell on myself. That wasn’t very good. But some of them, you have to look at actually what happened. Was it my fault? Was it a coverage thing? Was it a blitz pickup? I mean, I thought they did good for the most part and I could get the ball quicker and throw it away or do whatever. So, I’ll watch it and see what happened.

What’s the experience been like playing in front of a hometown crowd?

Mac: It’s good. I think the preseason crowds have been really good and I’m looking forward to watching the guys in the regular season. [I] love Jacksonville, it’s a great football town. I know high school football started back up, so I’m looking forward to watching that and I’m excited for the regular season,