The New England Patriots suffered an ugly loss on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, their 38-3 defeat represents the most lopsided loss in Bill Belichick’s entire career as an NFL head coach.
In a contentious moment in the game, Belichick decided to pull starting quarterback Mac Jones amid another poor performance. Unsurprisingly, this decision led to all sorts of questions surrounding the 25-year-old’s future with the Patriots.
Mac Jones Benched in Blowout Loss
Jones finished the game with 12-of-21 completed passes for 150 yards, zero touchdowns, and another two interceptions. The former first-round pick has now been picked off four times in his first four games of the season.
Bailey Zappe came in to replace Jones late in the third quarter, which to some, could signify New England’s decision to demote the latter from being the team’s QB1.
For his part, however, Belichick isn’t ready to make such a significant change just yet. When asked why Jones was benched in the latter part of Sunday’s game, the Pats head coach was quick to play down the decision:
“I didn’t think there was any point in leaving him in the game,” Belichick said, via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald (paywalled).
The press wasn’t contended with Belichick’s response. They probed the coach about his decision hoping for a jucier response. The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach refused to indulge them:
“I just said there was no point in leaving him out there, so I took him out,” Belichick said when asked if Jones was benched because of his lackluster performance.
Mac Jones Still Remains New England Patriots’ Starting QB
The big question now is whether or not Zappe is going to take over the reins for New England after Jones has left so much to be desired over the first four games of the season.
Belichick was asked this exact question directly, to which the 71-year-old answered in a straightforward manner.
“Yeah, I just said there was no point in leaving him in the game,” Belichick responded after being questioned if Jones will continue to start for New England.
As Belichick stated, Jones will still be the Patriots’ QB1 when they face off against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday. Whether or not this will be the case for New England the rest of the way, however, remains to be seen.
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