FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots promoted defensive back Myles Bryant from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Tuesday and placed linebacker Chase Winovich on injured reserve.

Winovich left in the third quarter of Sunday’s 35-29 loss to the Cowboys with a hamstring injury. He has appeared in six games this season, getting seven tackles.

Bryant makes his third trip to the active roster of the season and adds depth to the secondary after the defense gave up a season-high 445 passing yards to Dallas.

THE MAC JONES fan club continues to grow in wake his performance during Sunday night’s overtime loss to the Cowboys.

His ability to shake off a pick-six late in the game and throw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne during the very next series spoke volumes.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels loved the resilience shown by his rookie quarterback.

“He’s a tough guy. I’ve seen him grow, I’ve seen our group grow,” McDaniels said Tuesday via Zoom. “We talk a lot about mental and physical toughness and how much of that is required in this league, to actually compete and win against good teams.”

Obviously, the interception as the Patriots were trying to run out the clock was not a positive, but McDaniels said his response was the most important part in terms of Jones growing as a quarterback.

“I thought he responded with the mental toughness that you want to see from your quarterback. He wasn’t super discouraged. He knew we still had time in the game to go out there and make a difference,” said McDaniels. “Rookies make mistakes every day. Part of being a rookie is understanding those things are going to happen, and you can’t go in the tank, you can’t let that ruin the rest of the day at practice, or let that ruin the rest of the half in a game. You have to be able to pick yourself up, and move on and try to play better football as the game goes along and I thought he did that.”

Jones completed 15 of 21 passes for 229 yards with two TDs and one interception in the 35-29 overtime loss to Dallas.

KENDRICK BOURNE is a big fan of the way Jones throws the football.

The New England receiver, who played with the 49ers up through last season, raved about the way the rookie quarterback threw the ball during a radio interview. Bourne was asked about the differences between playing with Jones and former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco. For Bourne, it comes down to the way that Jones throws such a catchable ball.

“I would say the velocity part – Mac, he’s throwing it hard. But when you catch it, it’s like a pillow. I could definitely say that. He’s special,” Bourne said.

Meanwhile, Bourne admitted that Garoppolo was more of a “rifle” as a passer, meaning the ball comes in a little harder. As for timing and pocket presence, Bourne says both are “solid,” with the main difference coming down to velocity.

Bourne didn’t have too many chances to catch passes from Jones in Sunday’s game, drawing just two targets. The first went a little wide, bouncing off Bourne’s fingertips for a pick-six to Trevon Diggs. But the second target? That resulted in a 75-yard go-ahead touchdown.

Bourne has 18 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns so far in his first season with New England.

ROOKIE RUNNING BACK Rhamondre Stevenson emerged as a pass catcher during the loss to the Cowboys.

Stevenson, who had been in the doghouse after fumbling in the season opener against the Dolphins, has been steadily improving both in the run game, as well as catching passes out of the backfield since his return to the lineup.

Against the Cowboys, he had five carries for 23 yards and a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 39 yards. McDaniels said the rookie has “soft hands and is a natural catcher of the football.”

With James White out for the season, adding Stevenson to the pass-catching mix will certainly help.

“He’s always had good hands . . . when he got here, he could catch the ball well,” said McDaniels. “So, he’s just bought in to what we’ve tried to do with him in the passing game, tried to run good routes, be where he’s supposed to be, and be ready for the football.”

McDaniels is hoping Stevenson will progress and continue to learn how to play in the Patriots system and adapt to the defenses he sees from week to week.

“We gave him some plays the other day,” said McDaniels. “Hopefully we can build on that each week as we move forward and continue to try to develop him and see him evolve as the season goes along.”

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