(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Marcus Jones #25 of the New England Patriots reacts after a punt return during the third quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 27, 2024 in Foxborough.

The great frustration for the Patriots in the Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh at home was that, for the players on the home team (the game was at Gillette Stadium), the bulk of the loss can be placed on the men in the mirror. Five turnovers were the big culprit, as were some ill-timed penalties.

For one Patriots starter, the mistakes will carry over to his checkbook, as cornerback Marcus Jones was hit with a “gameday infraction” fine by the NFL, according to the league’s operations center.

The fine for Jones was on an unnecessary roughness call in the first quarter on a short out-pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jonnu Smith. In attempting to cover Smith, Jones had to contend with a block from tight end Pat Freiermuth, and Jones took out his legs, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.

The hit will cost Jones $9,151, a number set forth in the collective bargaining agreement. It was one of 20 fines handed out for Week 3 play.

Marcus Jones Penalty Was Costly

The Patriots only committed seven penalties, but they all seemed to be costly. Jones’s certainly was. The Steelers had been backed up inside the 10-yard line on a third-and-6 play 30 seconds before, but a holding call on cornerback Alex Austin gave them an automatic first down and erased a Milton Williams sack.

Jones followed with his penalty on the very next play, granting Pittsburgh 15 yards and moving them out to the 36-yard line. Suddenly, what appeared to be a chance for the patriots to suffocate the Steelers and force a punt from deep in their own territory opened up an opportunity for Rodgers to lead a 12-play, 90-yard drive for a touchdown that gave Pittsburgh a 14-0 lead.

Patriots Far Too Sloppy in Week 3

Certainly, coach Mike Vrabel wants to see the Patriots play a cleaner brand of football going forward. The team has shown some positives, but at 1-2, it has also shown it’s not good enough to overcome the flood of mistakes the players are making.

“I’m not going to state the obvious,” Vrabel said. “We just have to not give them so many chances with the turnovers, take care of those things. There’s a lot to clean up. A lot of good in there, but unfortunately just not enough to get us to win, to get us to really have any sort of advantage in a football game.

“Every time I felt like we were going to take the momentum and be able to score and move forward in the game, and the defense did a great job there. Unfortunately it got to be one too many opportunities on their part.”

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney