I don’t even know where to start on this. I’m still in complete shock after all that transpired last night. If you’re reading this you already know what happened so I’m just going to jump right into it. Bill Belichick made his bed last night and now he has to lie in it, and he’s laying next to Bailey Zappe now and not Mac Jones. I was a firm believer in the camp that it was Mac’s job when he was healthy. Zappe was fun to watch, but let’s be honest he beat probably the two worst defenses in the NFL in his two starts. So, you go into last nights game against an inferior team and hope you can get Jones on track before we play the Jets next week (who would’ve thought that would be a big game). He goes out there and has two three and outs before getting the ball moving a bit and then throwing a pick. Not just any interception though. The most Mac Jones interception he could possibly throw. Flushed from the pocket, hurried by the DE, throws up a jump ball off his backfoot into quadruple coverage, over throws his receiver, and it gets picked off. I mean we just can’t have that happening still. That’s been his biggest downfall so far is poor decision making. Just chuck that ball out of bounds and regroup, but he didn’t and that’s where things got interesting.

After the Pats force a punt out trots Bailey Zappe and Gillette went absolutely BANANAS. Then what does he do? Lead two straight touchdown drives to take the lead making some nice throws in the process. After that he wasn’t so great, but last night just wasn’t the Pats night. The defense was pitiful. Either of these QBs on their A-game still has a lot of trouble winning this one. So I don’t necessarily put the loss on either of them. It goes on the defense and the offensive line. Now the Pats are at a crossroads though and a very big decision looms.

We can’t be doing all this flip flopping. Bill and the coaching staff have to name a starter for the rest of the season this week and just roll with him. Personally, I would’ve liked to have seen Mac finish the game last night even if they wanted to go with Zappe all along because at this point all you’ve given him is three drives coming off missing three games. That’s not enough of a sample size to make a call on him right now. The way the defense was playing last night you knew you were going to have trouble winning that game regardless so just let Mac dig his own grave right? Well, that’s not what happened and now the Patriots have backed themselves into a corner.

I don’t think you can go back to Mac right now. You made the decision to pull him and now you have to live with it. Belichick said in his press conference that Mac’s health played a factor in his decision, but that’s bullshit. Jones had a couple nice runs and didn’t look hobbled at all. He also said he planned on playing both guys and that he was going to go back to Mac if the game was closer. That’s also bullshit, but for a different reason. This is a team sport and QB is the most important positon on the field. You need to have cohesion there and shuffling your QBs around isn’t going to help you win games. Either Mac is healthy or he isn’t. He starts or he sits, but you’re not bringing in Zappe off the bench like a relief pitcher if Mac’s your guy.

It’s a shitty situation and I feel for Mac, but his performance so far hasn’t done him any favors. At this point Zappe seems more comfortable in the pocket, makes good decisions (for the most part), and has some serious arm talent. The second half last night was obviously not great, but the offensive line had a lot to do with that. He had no time to throw all half. The first interception was off a tipped ball so you can throw that one out. The second one was worse, but you can chalk that up to him trying to make a play down three scores late in the game.

At the end of the day this is still a team that can win games and make a playoff run with the right guy under center. I thought that was Mac coming into the season. I still thought that was Mac after the Browns game. Now I’m not so sure. I think at this point you’ve done at least some irreversible damage there too. Sure they can cover it up and say the injury was a factor, but they know it wasn’t. In making that move you’ve also showed Zappe that you have confidence in him so I think you have to lean into it at this point. Not to mention the crowd reaction when Zappe came in. That can’t sit well with Mac and I hope he doesn’t turn on the fanbase because of it. What happened last night isn’t something I’ve ever seen with this team. Even when Cam Newton was throwing rocket ships at the WRs feet they didn’t turn to Jarrett Stidham until the game was out of hand. I want it on the record too that I’m not ready to give up on Mac just yet, but somethings off right now either mentally or physically. Mac’s a player they made a huge investment in to be the guy and if they truly believed that Bailey Zappe wouldn’t have stepped on the field last night. You’ve sent that message now you have to follow through on it. You have to ride with the person who gives you the best chance to win and right now that’s Bailey Zappe.