The honeymoon period for Mac Jones has long been over in New England.
Now, after Monday night’s shocking 33-14 loss to the Bears at Gillette Stadium, popular rookie backup quarterback Bailey Zappe also has a taste of exactly how fleeting life can be as a fledgling NFL QB.
Much has been said and written about how Bill Belichick bungled the Patriots quarterback situation over the last few weeks, failing to vocalize any substantial support for the former No. 15 overall pick and Pro Bowler Jones while fueling the fire of controversy as Zappe Fever spread throughout Patriot Nation.
Belichick’s missteps managing his quarterbacks elevated to new levels when he started Jones against the Bears after a three-game absence due to a reported severe high ankle sprain only to pull his supposed franchise passer after three fruitless series in Foxborough – a pair of three-and-outs followed by an ill-advised, poorly lobbed interception.
Much to the passionate, vociferous pleasure of the home crowd, on came Zappe to inject life into the Patriots offense with a pair of scoring drives to turn a 10-0 deficit into a 14-10 lead.
As Hall of Fame QB and Fox analyst Troy Aikman noted, at that point there was indeed a quarterback controversy in New England.
But it didn’t last long, mostly because Zappe struggled mightily the rest of the game. He very much looked like an overmatched, undersized, mid-round rookie at times with batted passes, a trio of turnovers and really no more production to show for his offensive efforts against a Bears defense that’s anything but Monsters of the Midway.
Jones never saw the field again and Zappe never found anything close to electrifying execution again, while another 2021 first-round QB in Justin Fields marched his offense up and down the synthetic surface on five consecutive possessions to pull away for the win.
There was indeed a talented but still unproven, unquestioned franchise quarterback on the field Monday night in Foxborough and it was Fields.
Meanwhile the Patriots supposedly and apparently had some curiously cockamamie plan to play both their young quarterbacks, though that plan was never really shared with the stunned rank and file of the New England offense, many of whom didn’t seem to care for the way that their team captain Jones was being treated. The plan certainly wasn’t obvious based on the reps from the practice field leading up to the game, the “bulk” of which reportedly went to Jones.
Jones never got a chance to really knock off the rust from his time missed rehabbing his injury. Zappe never, reportedly, got the chance to properly prepare for bulk of the QB game reps with requisite game action.
Belichick, as always falls back on his “best interests of the team” cliché to defend any and all of his actions leading the Patriots, even disastrous decisions like, say maybe planning to play two quarterbacks and urinate lighter fluid on a fan base’s spreading brush fire of uncertainty at the position.
Here is the harsh reality right now. Forget Belichick’s “best interests of the football team” cliché. It’s as meaningless and lacking of actual insight as it has always been. Today the cliché that counts in New England is the simple idea that if you have two quarterbacks – and if you actually plan on playing two quarterbacks – then you have no quarterback.
Regardless of Belichick’s intentions managing Jones’ development, Zappe’s surprise contributions or the entirety of the quarterback situation, New England doesn’t have a reliable option to turn to under center Sunday afternoon in New York against the Jets or in the weeks to follow.
Jones appears to be mentally broken, stripped of his swagger and confidence as the developing franchise QB and left in concerning puddle of insecurity and interceptions.
Zappe appeared ill-equipped to lead an offense back from a deficit, no longer finding the easy, comfortable throws of recent weeks. He also appeared shaken when thrown to the media pack postgame, left answering questions that are clearly well above his paygrade.
Is Mac Jones a franchise QB? He certainly hasn’t looked like one or been treated like it this season.
Is Bailey Zappe a franchise QB? He certainly doesn’t look like one and definitely didn’t play like it against the Bears.
The 3-4, last-place Patriots don’t have a quarterback controversy, they have a simple quarterback problem -- they don’t have a quarterback.
Which quarterback are the Patriots and their fans confident in? Jones or Zappe?
Right now the honest, problematic answers feels like neither.
Thanks to MacFarlane Energy where they offer the most dependable home heating oil delivery and HVAC service including Lennox heating and cooling systems. Visit MacFarlaneEnergy.com for more.