The Las Vegas Raiders had their way with the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night in a 63-21 blowout. Three former New England Patriots players scored for the Raiders -- wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, running back Brandon Bolden and cornerback Jack Jones.
Early in the fourth quarter, Chargers backup quarterback Easton Stick dropped back to throw a screen pass to the outside of the field. Seemingly out of nowhere, Jones, who was released by New England just a few weeks ago, found a hole in the offensive line and intercepted the pass, taking it all the way back for six.
Jones' former Patriots teammates were quick to celebrate the play on social media, with Patriot linebacker Matthew Judon posting a clip of the play to his Instagram story with a caption saying, "We knew it."
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Another former Patriots teammate, Jalen Mills, took to X on Friday afternoon to make a post that many fans believe is about Jones and how he has shown improvement since leaving New England for Las Vegas, thanks to his new coaches believing in him. Jones later reposted Mills' post.
"It’s crazy what a coach showing a player that they believes in you can do for their confidence and performance," Mills posted on X.
Fans in the replies were left wondering if Mills was taking a shot at Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Jones didn't necessarily leave New England on good terms after reports that he missed curfew before the team's Week 9 matchup against the Washington Commanders.
Although Jones did refute those claims in a separate post on X, New England still ultimately let him go. The Raiders jumped on the opportunity, where he found himself immediately contributing. In his five games for the Patriots this season, Jones combined for just 12 tackles. In his four games with the Raiders, Jones has already combined for 15 tackles, including one for a loss, and an interception he returned for a touchdown.
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Could Mills have been hinting that Belichick was holding Jones back? Mills' post, combined with Judon's Instagram story, make it clear that teammates of Jones always knew he could be an effective player on the field. Patriots players had a similar reaction when quarterback Malik Cunningham was demoted back to the practice squad and later signed by the Baltimore Ravens.
Another example could be in the Patriots letting wide receiver Jakobi Meyers walk in the offseason in favor of signing JuJu Smith-Schuster. Since signing with the Raiders, Meyers has already logged 648 yards on 59 receptions for seven receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Smith-Schuster, on the other hand, has only accumulated 260 yards on 29 receptions with one touchdown.
A trend seems to be brewing in New England -- Belichick is either not believing in or is giving up on his players too soon.