Mac Jones' starting status for Patriots in question

The addition of Bill O’Brien as New England’s offensive coordinator this year was meant to spark a turnaround for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.

The former Alabama All-America had gone from a Pro Bowl selection for a playoff team as a rookie to poorer production for an 8-9 squad in his second season after the departure of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.

But during New England’s 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Patriots replaced Jones in the third quarter with backup Bailey Zappe.

“I feel like I’ve made progress this year so far, just not today,” Jones said. “Definitely took a bunch of steps back.”

Jones completed 12-of-21 passes for 150 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for 7 yards on three carries before leaving with New England trailing 31-3 after two second-half possessions.

“I didn’t think there was any point to leaving him in the game,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.

Asked if Jones was benched for his performance, Belichick said: “No. I said there was no point in leaving him out there, so I took him out.”

And when asked if Jones would remain New England’s starting quarterback, Belichick stuck to his no-point reply.

Asked about his starting status, Jones said: “I think it will be a good test just for me just trying to stay focused on what I can control, and that’s playing better, so just got to evaluate everything. It wasn’t my day today. Hopefully, there’s better days ahead.”

Jones lost a fumble on a sack that Dallas linebacker Leighton Vander Esch returned 11 yards for a touchdown as the Cowboys took an 18-3 lead with 11:09 left in the first half.

With 54 seconds left in the first half, Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland intercepted Jones and ran 54 yards for a touchdown.

Bland intercepted Jones again at the Cowboys 38-yard line to end the Patriots’ first possession of the second half on a fourth-and-2 snap.

“Definitely disappointed in myself,” Jones said. “I feel like I can play a lot better, and I have to to beat good teams. …

“Every team that’s winning right now, their quarterbacks are playing really well, so need to do better. At the end of the day, it’s all about execution on Sunday. You can put as much into it as you want, but I just have to put a better product out there.”

Jones ended up on the bench even though he started the game by completing his first three passes for 63 yards. But his first incompletion came on third-and-1 at the Dallas 6-yard line, and New England settled for a field goal.

Zappe completed 4-of-9 passes for 57 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Coming off a 15-10 victory over the New York Jets, New England dropped to 1-3. The Patriots had lost 25-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles and 24-17 to the Miami Dolphins in their first two games of the 2023 season.

Belichick did not pin Sunday’s setback on Jones.

“We didn’t do anything well enough as a team,” Belichick said. “That includes everybody – coaches, players, offense, defense, special teams.”

Jones’ passing yardage has gone down in every game, from 316 in the opener to 231 to 201 to 150 on Sunday, and his passing-efficiency rating has tumbled from 91.3 in the first game on Sept. 10 to 39.9 in Sunday’s contest.

New England returns to the field against the New Orleans Saints at noon CDT Oct. 8 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

“It just really wasn’t a great day,” Jones said. “I’m not going to let it carry over into the next week. It’s going to be done after I watch the film. Definitely disappointed, but at the end of the day, I’m going to keep grinding and, hopefully, the other guys will come with me. It’s hard, right, for me to sit up here and say that. I’m very disappointed in myself, but I got to bounce back.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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Mac Jones’ starting status for Patriots in question