As Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reported on Saturday night, the Patriots started Mac Jones at quarterback on Sunday in New Jersey.
Following Jones’ benching in the fourth quarter of New England’s defeat to the Colts in Germany, there had been a good deal of uncertainty for the previous two weeks regarding the starting quarterback for the Patriots. That decision put an end to that uncertainty.
Jones was replaced by Bailey Zappe, who had the opportunity to lead a drive that would have won the game but instead threw an interception on a fake spike that effectively put an end to the contest.
Will Grier has been urged by many fans to be given the opportunity to start a game, but the team released the career backup on Saturday.
The only other quarterback on the roster with experience is undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham, who is on the practice squad, in addition to Jones and Zappe. But it seems like the Patriots plan to keep him in the wide receiver position.
Bill Belichick has been delaying making the starting quarterback announcement for the past two weeks. This week, he has reiterated several times that he has just instructed all of his players to be prepared to play.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic stated on Saturday that “a quick hook” for the starter or “a rotation” at quarterback are both possibilities.
On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the 2-8 Patriots and the 3-8 Giants faced off. And when the game started, Mac Jones was the one taking the opening offensive snaps following two weeks of suspense and mystery.
On a third-and-7 slant to DeVante Parker, Jones completed an incomplete pass for his first completion of the day. Prior to this, Jones and the offense had been called for a delay of game on third-and-2.