Patriots: Patriots should stick with Mac Jones as their starting quarterback

Posted By on October 12, 2022

One of the most entertaining stories in recent New England memory has been the play of Bailey Zappe the past two weeks. The third-string rookie came into the Patriots game at Lambeau Field after Brian Hoyer’s injury and almost led them to a win against the Packers. He followed that up by winning his first start against Detroit on Sunday. It has been fun, but before you call in sick to work with a case of Zappe Fever, the Patriots will be better off sticking with Mac Jones as their starting quarterback once he is healthy.

Zappe has filled in admirably and in two games has 287 passing yards, one passing touchdown and an interception that was Nelson Agholor’s fault. While Zappe has not made any major mistakes, the Patriots have not asked him to do nearly as much as Jones, even in Jones rookie season last year. Zappe has completed a total of 27 passes for 287 yards, but 137 of those yards have come after the catch. That’s 47.7%. For comparison, 35.7% of Jones’ passing yards have come on yards after the catch.

The Patriots have struggled inside the red zone all season, regardless of who is quarterback, but they were especially frustrating in that area against Detroit. New England’s four red zone trips all resulted in field goals, though Zappe did throw a touchdown pass from just outside the red zone.

Part of that was a willingness to be conservative in play calling because of how well the Patriots defense was playing, but part of it was also an unwillingness to take any risks with Zappe. Patriots’ fans remember a similar reluctance with Jones early in 2021. Patricia called 10 plays inside the Red Zone on Sunday and none of them ended up being passes for five yards or more.

Even in his rookie season when New England was trying to protect him, Jones still had over 30 pass attempts in each of his first five games. The New England offense is not structured quite the same as last year, with the running game more of a focus, but the Patriots still threw it at least 30 times in each of Jones’s first three games this year. Zappe’s touchdown pass to Meyers was a great throw, but Jones made those throw consistently in 2021 and had several early in 2022.

 

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The problem with Jones has been turnovers. He lost a fumble and threw an interception in Week 1, threw another interception in Week 2 and threw three second half interceptions in Week 3. That level of ball security is flat out unacceptable. However, Jones should be better with the ball when he returns due to some time off to settle down and a better knowledge of the newer offense by his receivers. It could be argued that Jones’ interception against Miami and his end-zone one against Baltimore were more about DeVante Parker than Jones. Matt Patricia also seems to have settled in as a play caller, which should help Jones as well.

Bailey Zappe has kept the Patriots afloat while Mac Jones has been out, and he has a real future in the NFL.  The Patriots can feel fully confident that they have a strong backup quarterback. While Zappe Fever has been fun, Mac Jones is the better player and can make some throws that Zappe has not yet shown an ability to make. The one scenario in which Zappe could take Jones’ job is if Jones continues turning the ball over. Absent that, the Patriots need to stick with Jones when he is healthy as the team’s ceiling is higher with him at quarterback.