The New England Patriots are on bye in Week 11 following their Week 10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany. It was yet another tough loss for the team, who fell 10-6 as the offense was once again stuck in neutral.
Starting quarterback Mac Jones completed 15-of-20 passes for 170 yards and one interception, getting sacked five times. He was eventually removed from the lineup in favor of Bailey Zappe, who found even less success. Zappe completed 3-of-7 passes for 25 yards and an interception of his own.
This is the third time of the 2023 season Jones has been benched in a game. When asked about the game, head coach Bill Belichick said he, “thought it was time for a change,” per Michael Baca of NFL.com. Belichick did not delve into future plans at the position, but he could have his hand forced.
Now on their bye, if the Patriots are going to make a change at quarterback, the time is now. Based on reports from Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald, there is certainly a possibility that occurs.
According to Callahan, Jones has lost the support of the locker room. A vast majority of players are done with Jones and would like to see a change made. Another source put the number at at least 80 percent with offensive and defensive players alike no longer having faith in Jones getting the job done.
No one would blame the Patriots for making a change. Jones is second in the NFL with 10 interceptions and is averaging career-lows in yards per attempt and yards per game. But, it is fair to question how much of an improvement Zappe would be over him, as his numbers in relief haven’t been any better.
New England will have this week to figure things out before beginning preparations for a Week 12 matchup against the New York Giants. That is a massive matchup for draft positioning as the Giants and Patriots have identical 2-8 records. Whoever loses that game will likely be in the driver’s seat for a top-two pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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