The New England Patriots refused to publicly announce which quarterback would start Sunday against the New York Giants.
After splitting reps in practice, Mac Jones ended up getting the nod over Bailey Zappe. But Jones didn't even last more than a half against the Giants.
He threw two interceptions over the first two quarters and the Patriots went into halftime with zero points. The Patriots had seen enough and turned to backup Bailey Zappe to begin the second half.
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It was the fourth time in 11 games that Jones has been benched. New England ultimately lost 10-7 to fall to 2-9 on the season.
"Coach (Bill) O'Brien told me I was out, and I understood," Jones said in his postgame press conference. "I wasn't moving the ball and we weren't scoring points. I understand why that happened."
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Jones completed 12 of 21 pass attempts (57.1 percent) for 89 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions before being pulled from the game. His 12 interceptions on the season are tied for the second-most among all quarterbacks.
Jones gave a candid assessment of his performance Sunday.
"Just bad quarterback play, wasn't good enough by me," Jones said. "If the quarterback doesn't play well, you have no chance."
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The Patriots' handling of the quarterback position this season has been weird, and that's probably being kind.
Does Jones think he was put in the best position to succeed?
"It's my job to go out there and play well regardless of the circumstances," Jones said. "There are no excuses not to. I had a few bad throws and just wasn't on the same page as the offense today. I've got to do a better job creating that standard and making sure we communicate."
Jones was immediately asked the same question by a different reporter, and he seemed a little annoyed.
"I just answered the question. I don't know what you want me to say," Jones responded. "Like I said, it's my job to go out there and play well. I'm an NFL quarterback and I need to do a better job of that. It is what it is."
Bill Belichick was asked during his postgame press conference which QB will start in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers, and he declined to give a real answer. Frankly, it doesn't really matter at this point. Sure, Jones might be a little better than Zappe, but they are both bad quarterbacks.
The Patriots have scored more than 20 points only once this season, and poor quarterback play is the primary reason for those struggles offensively.