New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones made his long-awaited return to game action Monday night against the Chicago Bears, but he barely lasted more than a quarter before being replaced by backup Bailey Zappe.
The Patriots' first two offensive possessions ended with punts, and the third one came to a halt when Jones was intercepted by Bears safety Jaquan Brisker with 13:08 remaining in the second quarter.
It was the last pass Jones threw on the night.
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Zappe entered the game on the next series and led the Patriots on back-to-back touchdown drives. It was all downhill for Zappe and the Patriots from there as the Bears scored 23 unanswered points in a 33-14 victory at Gillette Stadium.
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Jones, as expected, didn't throw head coach Bill Belichick or anyone else under the bus in his postgame press conference for how the quarterback situation was handled.
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But one of his teammates wasn't afraid to give an honest take on what unfolded.
When asked if he was surprised at Jones getting pulled from the game after three drives, Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers said, "Yeah, but that's the NFL for you. It's a fast-changing business."
How does a wide receiver adjust when that kind of change is made?
"Not even as a football player, it's tough as a man to see somebody who worked so hard, get that kind of treatment, but at the end of the day, we're all trying to feed our families," Meyers said. "We have to make plays no matter who's throwing (the ball)."
Meyers expanded on these comments when asked by The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan.
Jones getting just three possessions was pretty surprising. He wasn't playing well, but the ankle injury that sidelined him for the last three weeks didn't seem to be much of a problem. Jones' mobility actually was the most impressive aspect of his performance as he ran for 24 yards on three scrambles outside of the pocket.
Belichick said in his postgame press conference that the plan was for Jones to go back into the game in the second half, but "the score got out of hand. I didn't think that was the right thing to do."
He also declined to name a starting quarterback for his team's Week 8 road game against the New York Jets. Based on the bizarre quarterback plan that we saw Monday night, it's hard to predict which player will start next week.
It's a decision Belichick has to get right or this season could spiral out of control in a hurry. The Patriots already sit at the bottom of the AFC East with a 3-4 record.