FOXBOROUGH – A little bit before 1 P.M. on Wednesday, Bill Belichick stepped up to the podium in a crowded media workroom to begin talking about a big game against the Jets this week. Some would call it a must-win game.

After opening up with his usual statement explaining different challenges the next opponent presents, the “main event” of sorts began as everyone knew the quarterback questions were coming. Belichick did his best to deflect, saying “we’ll see how it goes” in some form or another in just about every answer.

Hours later, Field Yates reported that Jones “took 90% of the first team reps” in the practice and “will start for the team on Sunday against the Jets,” quickly making the clouded quarterback picture clearer.

For now.

Adding to the intrigue was the fact that Jones was at the podium after practice for the first time since his injury, something Bailey Zappe had been doing during game weeks.

“I plan to start every game that I’ve ever played in. So whether that was in peewee football or third string at Alabama, I always try to prepare as a starter,” Jones said when asked if he planned starting Sunday. “Like I always say, if it’s one snap or 70, I’ll be ready to go. That’s all you can do, right? You can’t really control anything else. I work really hard and put myself in position to do that. Yes, I think I deserve that.”

Of course, he was pressed several times on whether or not Belichick had told him he was starting. As you’d expect, Jones toe’d the company line as most players do inside the walls of 1 Patriot Place.

“Yeah, I think it’s a big week for the entire team,” said Jones. “We had a good practice today, or walkthrough, whatever you want to call it. Making good progress. So we want to just come together as a unit, as an offense really, and just do what we can do to become better, whether that’s extra film or speaking together as a unit. I think we’re doing really good stuff there. So that’s kind of what we’re focused on.

“When Sunday comes, we’ll be ready. But this is a really good defense that we’re going against. Probably the top defense in the league right now. So we have to be ready to go. A lot of the stuff we want to focus on are things that we’re doing and try and get better at that.”

It should be noted that Yates did not say Jones was named the starting quarterback going forward, but for the Jets game. You would think it’s Jones’ job, but after the way Monday night played out, there remains a cloud of uncertainty around the position. What if Jones plays poorly against the Jets? What if Zappe goes in again and plays poorly? What if Zappe goes in and plays well? Does Mac now have a longer leash?

For at least one day, Belichick seems to have seen enough to believe Jones is the best option moving forward, but there’s no guarantee that’s the case when Indianapolis comes to town. Whatever happens, Jones – to his credit – is saying all the right things and legitimately trying to be a good teammate in a very awkward situation.

“I think that’s the important thing…is helping the team,” Jones added. “That goes with playing better. Obviously, you don’t get any credit for having injuries and playing through it. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking to play and help the team. A lot of guys, it’s the NFL, you’re going to be a little bit banged up and you’re going to play through things. There’s guys on our team that are playing through stuff. So we’re all just trying to work together, put our best foot forward, play the game that we love and play it better than we have in the past.”