The New England Patriots benched quarterback Mac Jones in favor of Bailey Zappe to start the second half of their road game against the New York Giants on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. Jones, who threw 10 interceptions over his first 10 starts of the season, tossed two more picks in the first half against New York. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 89 yards and could not guide the Patriots on a scoring drive as the Giants led 7-0 at halftime. Jones was sacked five times in the first half of a Week 10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts and was replaced by Zappe in the fourth quarter. New England is coming off its bye week.
At the start of the week, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he told all the quarterbacks on his roster to be ready to go. Zappe, a second-year pro out of Western Kentucky, made two starts and four total appearances his rookie year. He completed 70.65 percent of his passes for 781 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in 2022. In three prior appearances this season, Zappe was 10 of 25 for 104 yards and an interception.
