New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick did it. He benched quarterback Mac Jones in the third quarter of Sunday’s 38-3 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It represents Belichick’s worst loss as the Patriots’ head coach.
As for Jones, the third-year quarterback was absolutely atrocious before being handed a clipboard, completing 12-of-21 passes for 150 yards with zero touchdowns and three turnovers. Two of those giveaways resulted directly in Cowboys defensive touchdowns, including a fumble and a pick-six.
It was bad. Really, really bad.
Throwing late and across your body is not a recipe for success at any level. Doing it in an actual NFL game is not going to make you many fans on the coaching staff. Third-year signal callers simply can’t make mistakes like that. It’s not acceptable.
Ultimately, Belichick turned to sophomore quarterback Bailey Zappe to replace Jones under center.
The interesting thing here is that Jones had actually performed pretty well through the first three games under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, completing 65% of his passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
We’re sure to hear more from Belichick on his decision to bench Jones. But it certainly has the two at a crossroads with New England now 1-3 on the season and looking very much like a cellar dwellar heading into the rest of October’s slate.
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Mac Jones struggles in Bill O’Brien’s system
Many were willing to give Jones a mulligan last season given the dynamics on offense for New England. Two veteran coaches in that of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge — neither of whom had experience calling plays on offense — were co-coordinators. It led to a miserable performance from Jones and the Pats’ offense.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, Belichick also threw some praise in the direction of his QB1.
“And I’d say he’s made a lot of improvement over the spring and training camp in reads, decision-making and timing. (He’s) getting more work, timing with the guys he’s throwing to, (he) works hard. Looking forward to the season here with Mac.”
Bill Belichick on Mac Jones heading into the 2023 season
It took less than four full games for Belichick to make a quarterback change. Whether the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach firmly believe what he said during the preseason remains unclear. But he did end up having a relatively quick hook with Jones.
This also comes after a calendar year full of drama between the defensive-minded head coach and his quarterback dating back to last season.
“What’s leftover from Bill being agitated at Mac for, more than anything else,” New England Patriots insider Tom E. Curran reported back in April. “You know the yelling during the games was irritating enough. Chris Simms alluded to this, but I heard it reaffirmed today. Going outside the building for counsel as to ‘Is this the way we’re supposed to be doing this?’ That really pissed Bill off.”
As for Jones, he seemed to take a shot at the aforementioned Patricia and Judge during the latter part of New England’s offseason program. “It’s been really good. It’s been normal. I think everything he’s (O’Brien) done so far has been really good. Communication is the most important part. And trust. I think it all starts with that with a new coach,” Mac Jones said back in late May.
Jones doesn’t have anyone to blame for his struggles. Giving up two defensive touchdowns in a game that you were behind the proverbial eight-ball in the first place is not a recipe for success. For a veteran coach in Belichick seeing it on the sideline, that’s magnified even further.
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Where to Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots go from here?
At 1-3 on the season, New England is going nowhere fast. It is not competing with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in the AFC East moving forward.
This will only add to speculation that Belichick could be coaching his final season in New England after joining the organization in that role back in 2000.
“I think it’s warm. It’s my opinion that I, I think if the season ends and the trajectory of the franchise is clearly trending down, that I think Kraft would weigh making the move very, very, very hard and might be willing to.”
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It remains to be seen if Belichick’s job security will play a role in his decision-making process. Human nature seems to suggest that it will.
Quarterbacks can’t give away games like we saw on Sunday against the Cowboys. Belichick’s no-nonsense mentality will end up leading to more questions moving forward as it relates to the former first-round pick.
If the head coach believes Bailey Zappe gives New England a better chance to compete, he’ll be given QB1 duties. There is no loyalty here. It’s all about winning with the future Hall of Fame head coach now at least somewhat on the hot seat following the Pats’ second consecutive 1-3 start.