For the fourth time this season, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has benched quarterback Mac Jones. Backup Bailey Zappe entered the game at quarterback early in the third quarter on Sunday against the New York Giants.
Against the 3-8 Giants, Jones was terrible. In the first two quarters, he went 12-for-21 with 89 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.
On paper, this line is terrible. Watching it live was even worse. His first interception came in the final seconds of the first quarter after dropping a long ball down the field.
His second interception was even worse. Jones appeared to throw the ball directly to linebacker Bobby Okereke.
There were moments when even simple passes seemed out of his reach.
Then there was this confusion late in the second quarter.
While this is the fourth time this season that Jones has been benched, it is the first time he has been pulled early and in a (relatively) close game. Belichick benched Jones twice during blowouts, and in Week 10 he benched him in the fourth quarter after an interception against the Indianapolis Colts.
Jones will almost certainly be benched for his performance this time around, although who knows what that means for his future. Many NFL fans (not just Patriots fans) are prepared to never see him grace a football field again. But Belichick is the king of the dribble and doesn’t like to close the windows. Will Sunday’s game be enough to completely displace Jones from his full-time role?
Given Zappi’s performance in the second half, who knows. He went 9-for-14 with 54 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. The Patriots lost 10-7.
