Mac Jones has proven over and over again that he’s not it for the New England Patriots. He had already been benched three times during games heading into Week 12 against the New York Giants.
The first half did not go swimmingly for Jones and his 2-8 Patriots. The quarterback completed 12-of-21 passes for 89 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. His first pick came with New England driving at the Giants’ 23-yard line on third-and-4. It was not pretty.
Don’t even attempt to consider what Jones was thinking here, because, it would be futile.
With New England down 7-0 at the half, head coach Bill Belichick finally decided to bench Jones in favor of backup Bailey Zappe.
Remember, it was not 100% clear heading into Sunday’s game that Jones would be given the start. Belichick played his quarterback situation close to the vest.
“I’ve told everybody to be ready to go. Hopefully that’s what they’re all doing. I’m not going to announce starters at every position or whatever. Everybody will be ready to go,” Belichick on whether Mac Jones would start Sunday.
Zappe proceeded to complete all six of his passes for 38 yards en route to leading New England to a touchdown-scoring drive to open the third quarter. It seemed that New England simply needed to make that move in order to jump-start things.
Related: Ranking Mac Jones among NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks
Mac Jones stats (2023): 65% completion, 2,120 yards, 10 TD, 12 INT
Since a solid performance as a rookie back in 2021, Jones just has not been it for New England. He’s thrown 10 touchdowns with 14 giveaways this season. Add in issues within the Patriots’ locker room, and it’s still somewhat of a surprise that Belichick has not benched Jones for good.
According to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, 80% of the Patriots’ locker room is out on Jones. A “vast majority” of players no longer support him as New England’s starting quarterback.
Could you tell?