FOXBOROUGH, Mass – Mac Jones didn't hold back when talking after the New England Patriots loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

As a leader of the team, the Patriots quarterback shouldered all of the responsibility, blaming himself for their downfalls throughout the game.

And he especially highlighted the struggles in the fourth quarter. 

"Yeah, not good by me. They gave me the ball twice to win the game, and I couldn't do it," Jones said. "You get a chance to win the game twice and can't do it. You just got to learn from it. You only get so many opportunities in the NFL to do that, and I felt like I definitely let the team down."

Just felt like I let the defense down, and I'll have to live with that," Jones added. "I felt like in the most critical times, I played my worst so I just have to go back and look and see what I can do better."

In the fourth quarter with just under three and a half minutes remaining, Jabrill Peppers executed a perfectly placed hit on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, knocking the ball out of his hands. Marcus Jones then recovered the loose ball, providing the Patriots with a prime opportunity. 

However, the Patriots were forced to turn it over on downs after Jones was sacked, had an incomplete pass, and the offense was charged with a delay of game penalty, pinning them back to the a 4th and 17. Out of field goal range, Jones attempted to connect with Hunter Henry, but the pass was incomplete. 

On the following set of downs for the Eagles, the defense stepped up once again and forced them to then turn it over. But it was deja vu for the Patriots with Jones attempting to find Kayshon Boutte on a fourth down conversion, but the rookie receiver couldn't get two feet in bounds. 

"All you can do is learn," Jones said when trying to look towards the next game, "That's what you do as a good quarterback. You go back and learn."

The offense showed glimpses of what they are capable of throughout the game, getting the momentum going in the second quarter. Yet, the Eagles were the ones to hop out to a quick start, forcing the Patriots to climb out of a 16-0 deficit. 

"I really didn't throw any good passes on the first drive, so definitely a slow start, and it starts with me," Jones said. "Just got to watch the tape and clean it up, but definitely felt like we fought hard."

Despite Jones' struggles, the quarterback did help the Patriots fight their way back into the game. He finished the game completing 35 passes on 54 attempts for 316 yards. Jones also recorded his fourth career three-touchdown game.

And his teammates backed the third-year quarterback after the game, refusing to let him take on the entire blame. 

"I’ll just say this about Mac, man. I’ll go to battle with number 10 any day of the week," tight end Hunter Henry said. "I love competing with that guy every single day, and I’ll go to war with him wherever it is, man – conditions cold, rainy, beautiful day, a hot day, whatever it is. The dude’s a competitor, and it’s fun to go out there and play with a guy like that.

And fellow tight end Mike Gesicki echoed his sentiments. 

“Mac played great all day," Gesicki said. "He was locked in and was putting the ball where it had to go. I love having 10 back there as our leader. He was locked in all day from the first down.”

Yet regardless of what his teammates say, it is clear that Jones is a competitor and wants to help the Patriots get back to their winning ways. Because of that, he holds himself responsible when the team doesn't succeed to the level that they expect. So he is looking to use this loss as a way to learn from the mistakes and continue to grow.

"You are trying to win every game, but you have to learn. If you don't learn, you'll never end up winning. I do think that losing is not fun. Never has been. Never will be," Jones said. "But just trying to move forward. If we score a few more points on offense, that would be a different story. So we're not far off, it's just trying to just do better."

Patriots’ rookie Kayshon Boutte takes responsibility for final play

The rookie receiver expects more from himself in those moments.

Featured Image via Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports