The New England Patriots opened the door to a possible quarterback controversy by benching Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe in consecutive ugly losses.
Despite pulling Jones in Sunday’s 34-0 blowout against the New Orleans Saints, head coach Bill Belichick said he doesn’t plan on demoting the starting quarter. Bill O’Brien echoed that sentiment.
O’Brien responded, “I do” when asked Tuesday if he expects Jones to start in Week 6.
Does #Patriots OC Bill O’Brien envision Mac Jones being the team’s QB this week?
“I do.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 10, 2023
Jones has amassed 1,008 passing yards for five touchdowns and six picks this season. The third-year pro is setting new personal lows in quarterback rating (74.2) and yards per attempt (6.0).
He’s made multiple costly mistakes, throwing a pair of pick-sixes and surrendering a fumble returned for a touchdown in the last two games. O’Brien expressed the need to avoid those giveaways.
“At the end of the day, we’re turning the ball over too much,” O’Brien said, via WBZ’s Dan Roche. “That’s the number one thing. We got to stop turning the ball over.”
Asked Patriots OC Bill O’Brien about the offense and what the term “starting over” means to him. He also later added that he anticipates Mac Jones being the Starting QB Sunday in Las Vegas. @wbz pic.twitter.com/QiBIyMa7OA
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) October 10, 2023
While the 1-4 Patriots are in dire straits, O’Brien isn’t ready to wave the white flag.
“There’s always obituaries being written, but there’s a lot of football to be played,” he said.
Jones appears in line to start Sunday’s road game against the Las Vegas Raiders.