Troy Aikman believes Mac Jones unquestioned starter following Monday Night Football result

Troy Aikman is confident Mac Jones will be bounce back from Monday night. After the Patriots quarterback was benched against the Bears following a second-quarter interception, he never returned as backup Bailey Zappe took over in an eventual 33-14 loss.

Aikman joined SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt postgame with questions of a quarterback controversy brewing. After Van Pelt theorized that Jones’ experience under Nick Saban at Alabama may have prepared him to handle a tough situation like this, Aikman agreed.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “Not to say that this doesn’t bother him. He’s a competitor. The reason he’s gotten to this level and the reason he won a national championship there at Alabama is because he’s a great competitor. Any competitor would be upset with not (being) given the opportunity to come off that interception and see what he can do. But he’s gonna say all the right things and he’s gonna mean it. He’ll work hard this week and He’ll be ready for his next opportunity. He gets it. If anyone’s trained to handle something like this, it’s Mac Jones.”

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When Jones left the game, he was 3-of-6 with just 13 yards and a bad interception. On his first drive, Zappe surpassed the former first-round pick and then some, completing all three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. He followed that up with another quick touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to put the Patriots up 14-10.

However, that score would be the last of the game for New England as Zappe’s production took a nose dive the rest of the game. He threw two interceptions from that point on, finishing the game 14-of-22 passing for 185 yards.

New England invested a first-round pick with Jones in 2021, and Troy Aikman finds it hard to believe the team will give up on him that easily, especially after Zappe’s performance to close the game. Monday was also the first game back from an ankle injury for Jones after he missed the four weeks prior. In the first three games, Jones threw for 786 yards and two touchdowns.

The quarterback will have an opportunity to bounce back next in Week 8, when the Patriots face the New York Jets at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.