New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick had a steady answer on Tuesday when asked if the NFL team had decided who would be the starting quarterback in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, no matter how the inquiry was phrased.

“I’ve told all the players the same thing: Be ready to go,” Belichick said. “So, hopefully, they will be.”

Mac Jones has started every game at quarterback for New England this season and every game he’s been healthy since joining the Patriots from Alabama in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

But New England has the worst record in the AFC at 2-8 this season, and in the Patriots’ previous game on Nov. 12, Jones was benched for the final possession after he’d thrown an interception at the goal line in a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

On Wednesday, Jones was asked if he would start against the Giants.

“Hope so,” Jones said. “I mean, that’s the plan. I think I always work really hard for that, really put a lot of attention and detail into the week, like I talked about. A lot of that decision-making is things I can’t control, but I can control my attitude and my effort, like I talked about, and I’m really thankful overall to be in the NFL and be playing quarterback on Thanksgiving. It’s a great week to be grateful for a lot of things, and to play this game, the game that we love, together, I think that means a lot to me regardless of the situation.”

But is that Jones’ plan or the Patriots’ plan?

“We’ll see, right?” Jones said when asked that question. “We’ve had those conversations, and like I talked about, just focusing on the controllables and being where my feet are is very important. At the end of the day, like I said, I’m thankful to be here and to be the quarterback, and I’m going to continue to work hard and put in the hours every day – that’s all you can do – and see where we’re at.”

Jones said he had talked to Belichick about the starting-quarterback situation.

“We’ve had good conversations,” Jones said, “and really what I’ve been focusing on is what I can control. Put a lot of thought into that, the things that I can control throughout the year, in the past and in the future, and right now that’s today. Really focused on having good walkthroughs, which we did, and then have a good practice, so that’s what I can do — control what I can control.”

New England offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said on Monday the Patriots had gotten first-team work for quarterbacks Bailey Zappe and Will Grier during their bye week.

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Competition for playing time isn’t new to Jones, and he had a front-row seat for a quarterback competition at Alabama, too.

“I’ve dealt with this my whole life, whether it was Pop Warner, high school, college,” Jones said. “I was part of – I wasn’t really in it – but I was with Jalen (Hurts) and Tua (Tagovailoa). I witnessed everything. I heard every conversation, watched everything, watched every move between each guy, so I learned a lot about both of them and learned a lot about myself, too. Just trying to learn from their situation, and talking with Jalen and Tua and having those friendships is always good.”

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Despite the Patriots’ struggles to win this season, Jones said he still thinks he can get the job done.

“It’s good,” Jones said of his confidence level. “I think, like I always talk about, when you’re a competitor, there’s things you’re going to bump into, but you just have to keep going. I know I’m going to keep going.

“Like I said, it will all work out. It always has. As long as you keep working and fighting through the vines, right? You’ve got to keep pushing and keep making it work. It might not happen today or tomorrow, but you’re got to make it work just through you’re work ethic and all those things.’

The Patriots and Giants square off at noon CST Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. New York has a 3-8 record but is coming off a 31-19 victory over the Washington Commanders.

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