Booger McFarland shares surprising biggest ‘winner’ of Bucs-Patriots game

Sunday night’s game between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Gillette Stadium was billed as the matchup between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. But one analyst believes that there was a surprising “winner” to the game.

ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said on “Monday Night Countdown” that he thought Mac Jones was the real standout in the game.

“I thought the biggest winner last night wasn’t Brady and it wasn’t Belichick. To me, the biggest winner last night was Mac Jones,” McFarland said. “Because Mac Jones, in a game that was ‘The Return’ — Belichick vs. Brady — Mac Jones showed America that he is the most ready rookie quarterback in the class.

“With Trevor Lawrence, with Justin Fields, with Zach Wilson, with Trey Lance, with all those guys that are struggling, here’s Mac Jones going toe-to-toe with ‘the goat.’ I was so impressed with him … the poise.”

Jones went 31/40 for 275 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. His team lost 19-17, missing a 56-yard field goal that could have given them the lead late.

Though his team is 1-3, Jones has consistently been the most solid rookie quarterback so far. Of course, we’re only four games into the season, so there is plenty of time for the quarterbacks and their teams to develop. But Jones is off to a good start and proved on Sunday night that he can thrive in the spotlight.

Keep in mind that at No. 15 overall, Jones was the fifth quarterback taken in the draft behind Lawrence (No. 1), Wilson (No. 2), Lance (No. 3) and Fields (No. 11).