New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was benched during Monday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears after he threw an interception early in the second quarter. One angle of the play that went viral made it seem possible that the pass hit a camera wire, but that was not the case.
The original video was shared by a Bills fan on Tuesday. Doug Kyed of PFF then tweeted a clearer version, which was viewed around 400,000 times.
A Bills fan here found that Mac Jones' interception might have hit the SkyCam wire. I slowed the video down as much as possible. Also not sure how much it actually affected things if it did hit the wire, but it's interesting. https://t.co/4MMgfftt6m pic.twitter.com/OLMpgnsmLg
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 25, 2022
Some even speculated that Jones was trying to throw the ball away and then it hit the cable, causing it to change directions. ESPN issued a statement on Wednesday saying the pass never came within 15 feet of the SkyCam wire.
ESPN statement: “This pass from Mac Jones did not hit ESPN’s SkyCam wiring. This video creates a false impression, but in reality the SkyCam wire was more than 15 feet above the ball and our SkyCam system followed all NFL protocols.” https://t.co/vKMpQp4xOz
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 26, 2022
There is one point in the video where it looks like the ball may have changed direction, but that was probably just when it started coming down from its peak. Jones did not seem to react as though his pass just hit a camera wire. You have to think he would have noticed and not been happy about it.
While it would be fun to blame the ESPN and their SkyCam for Jones being benched, the reality is the Patriots have a full-blown quarterback controversy on their hands. Just don’t try asking Bill Belichick about it.
