The Patriots’ handling of its quarterback situation last Monday against the Bears was unordinary.
Prior to the game head coach Bill Belichick said that he would play both Mac Jones and backup Bailey Zappe during the game but it wasn’t exactly how things unfolded.
After starting the first three drives of the game with the last one ending in an interception, Jones was subbed out of the game in favor of Zappe who finished the remainder of the contest. Prior to the game, there were already conversations, largely in the media, as to if Zappe should remain the starter even if Jones was fully recovered from his ankle injury which sidelined him in the first place.
In his absence, Zappe has a record of 2-0 as the team’s starter and helped jump-start an offense in turmoil.
Those calls were intensified when Zappe led the offense to consecutive touchdown drives upon entering the game. The rest of Monday Night Football wasn’t as successful as Zappe’s spark as the team went scoreless for the remainder of the night.
In the days following Belichick kept his quarterback situation close to the vest possibly hinting at a change for Sunday’s game against the Jets.
But on Thursday, Belichick erased any doubt of who will start the game saying that Jones will once again get the call.
“We started the game the way we wanted to start it last week,” Belichick said to local media. “We talked about the way it ended up, so this week’s a different week. It’s a different situation. Mac will be our quarterback.”
This doesn’t mean that the competition, if any, is officially closed and shut. But Jones will have a chance to improve upon his rocky start back from injury.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
