Patriots quarterback Mac Jones may have finished Sunday’s ugly loss to the Cowboys on the bench, but coach Bill Belichick seemed unready to make any definitive statements on his future post-game.
Belichick, who’s no stranger to keeping his comments brief, began his media session with a statement harping on the team needing to improve and being “a lot better” than they showed in the 38–3 rout. After answering two questions about the team with a reference to his statement, Belichick was next asked why Jones was pulled for backup Bailey Zappe with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
His reply? “I didn’t think there was any point in leaving him in the game,” Belichick said.
Curiously, Belichick repeated the same answer when asked if the benching came due to performance-reasons, and if Jones would start at home in Week 5 against the Saints.
“I just said there was no point in leaving him in the game,” he said about next week’s game.
As the longtime coach alluded to, the Patriots’s poor performance firmly placed them in a spot few teams could come back from. The dizzying effort was not made by better by the play of Jones, who set up two defensive touchdowns with a fumble and a horrid pick-six that helped spell the end of the third-year QB’s night.
While Jones’s outing may be a cause for a concern to some, the team will likely take its time before making a call on his status going forward. It’s worth noting Jones went through a similar experience in 2022 when he was pulled in Week 7 before starting Week 8.
With the club now 1–3, only time will tell what the Pats decide to do, although Belichick made it clear he felt Sunday was more about the team than Jones’s decision-making or confidence.
“I just think we need to go out and play well,” he said.
Here’s a look at all of Belichick’s postgame comments:
Bill Belichick’s postgame comments after the Patriots’ 38-3 loss to the Cowboys pic.twitter.com/Ptq9np7tnj
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 2, 2023
