Did the season just go snap?

The New England Patriots and their fans certainly hope not.

At the very least, it took a really bad twist.

That’s what many are hoping is the situation with Mac Jones, and perhaps they will get their wish as the NFL Network reported X-rays were negative after the injury he suffered toward the end of Sunday’s 37-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. It further reported later last night that Jones is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain, and pending MRI results will likely land him on injured reserve.

Still, the of the Patriots quarterback hobbling off the field in the final two minutes certainly was disheartening.

Simply put, it was not a good day for the Patriots. They turned the ball over five times, and one of the biggest Ravens there is, Calais Campbell, all 6-foot-8, 307 pounds of him, came down on Jones’ ankle. Obviously you can’t After the game, players in a glum locker room talked about their second year quarterback and how they would check in on him before they left.

“It’s a tough game,” Patriots receiver Nelson Agholor said. “He’s a tough person. He played his heart out. He takes hits all the time. We’ll find out (how he is).”

Ironically, the postgame topic would have been more about Jones getting into a street war with the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and coming up short, throwing three interceptions. The game was there for the Patriots to grab, but whether it be Jones throwing it to the other team or receiver Nelson Agholor having the ball stripped from behind, they gave it away.

“We all saw it here,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who predictably would shed no light on the Jones injury. “We weren’t able to take advantage of some of them. … (The Ravens) are a good team. They were able to take advantage of our mistakes.”

And of course they made plenty of them. And not just on offense, as Lamar Jackson was able to run for 107 yards and one TD on 11 carries. You can say that hey, he does it to everyone, but at some point you have to be able to stop him, too.

“I mean, that’s the thing when playing against him,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “Stat-wse, overall, can look like you did some good things, but he changes games with a dopule of different plays.”

But now the focus is on the future. The Patriots hit the road for Lambeau Field next week and after seeing the pain Jones was in, it would be hard to imagine him playing next Sunday.

“I know if he has something he can go and play with,” McCourty said, “he’s going to play with it.”

That’s why the “next man up” phrase was heard often in the locker room, and players were consistently asked about veteran Brian Hoyer taking over as a starter.

“It’s just about having his back,” Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “It’s my job, it’s everybody’s job to support him and help him be better to step in that role.”

Bourne’s locker happens to be right next to Hoyer’s. Who knows, maybe this is all a moot point, but we doubt it.

“We get along really well,” Bourne said. “Great vet, taught me a lot, you know, and he’s been playing for awhile. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and I think he’ll be just fine.

“That’s what you want. He’s not a young guy, he’s vetted. He always has his input on the things we’re doing, what he sees, preparing like he’s the No. 1. That’s what you want to see.”

Of course, that’s not what the Patriots fans want to see. They may have groaned when Jones tried his feeble end zone dance, or threw one of his picks. But they’ll groan louder if it’s Brian Hoyer vs. Aaron Rodgers next week.

“We’ll get ready to go to next week to go play Green Bay,” McCourty said.

Likely without their starting QB.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.