Mac Jones played the first half. Bailey Zappe played the second half. The result was the same – mediocracy. Neither quarterback was viewed as the starting quarterback during the week, and both players split practice reps, according to multiple reports.
Looking at their respective statlines, both quarterbacks struggled against the Giants. Mac Jones went 12-for-21, throwing for 89 yards and recording two interceptions. That performance led to a 7-0 deficit going into halftime. According to Bailey Zappe, after the game, Bill O’Brien told him in the locker room at halftime that the sophomore quarterback would be starting the second half for the Patriots.
Zappe tallied 54 yards through the air, going 9-for-15 with an interception. Regardless, it started off well for Zappe as he led the Patriots to a touchdown drive on the first drive of the second half. After that, however, he made lousy decisions. Zappe could’ve had two more interceptions, and all his confidence looked shaken up after his first drive.
“That just comes down to me doing my job. That comes down to me, the quarterback. Incompletions. Turnovers. That’s on me,” Zappe told reporters. “In the second half, we started out hot, came right down and scored. I have to keep that going. Keeping that energy up. I wasn’t able to do that. That’s on me.”
Talking about his interception, Zappe acknowledged he had Tyquan Thornton wide-open over the middle of the field.
“The pick I threw led to their field goal. We should never have been in that position. That’s on me,” he added. “I have to see that. I could check down to Tyquan. He was wide open.”
Conversely, Mac Jones also said he needs to play better, and after his fourth benching, he understood the decision to play at halftime.
“It was just bad quarterback play. It wasn’t good enough for me. If the quarterback doesn’t play well, you have no chance,” Jones said.
When asked if he was put in an unfair position, Mac gave a short answer, but when pressed on the question, he gave a longer response.
“It’s my job to play well regardless of the circumstances. There’s no excuse not to. I had a few bad throws,” Jones said. “I wasn’t on the same page with the offense today. I have to do a better job,” he said. “I’m an NFL quarterback. It’s my job to go out there and play well. I need to do a better job of that. It is what it is.”
After the game, as usual, Bill Belichick didn’t give much insight into his decision-making and said both quarterbacks deserved to play. (HUH)?
“I thought both guys deserved to play,” Belichick told the media.
Belichick cut his postgame press conference short and walked out after four minutes, which was unusual even for his media standards. The coach declined to name a starter for the Chargers game this Sunday or how they’ll handle quarterback reps in practice this week.
Although Mac Jones is only on year 3 of his four-year contract, it’s hard to envision Jones sticking with the Patriots next season. This year, he was pulled in blowout losses against the Cowboys and Saints, and the Patriots benched him in the fourth quarter of a one-score game in Germany. Jones, being benched a fourth time, faces an uphill battle to remain the starter.
On the season, Jones has gone 224-of-335, throwing for 2,120 yards with ten touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
The Patriots are back on the practice fields on Tuesday, where we could get a better understanding of the Patriots quarterback situation.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
