Report: Patriots to start Mac Jones vs. New York Jets

Only Bill Belichick knows what was going on with the Patriots quarterback situation during Monday Night Football. Mac Jones played three drives before being pulled and seeing Bailey Zappe finish out the contest. New England has a decision to make before their Week 8 matchup and per a report, Belichick has figured out who will start.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, Jones will be the one starting against the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. Zappe will once again serve as the backup as the Patriots desperately need a win to keep pace in the AFC East.

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“Breaking news for Week 8: Patriots QB Mac Jones took about 90% of the first teams reps in practice today and will start for the team on Sunday against the Jets, per source,” Yates said via Twitter.

Jones has been New England’s starter since the beginning of last season during the quarterback’s rookie year. He suffered an ankle injury during the Week 3 loss against Baltimore, missing three games and Zappe looks competent in that time.

However, Belichick will not be making any kind of franchising-changing move, going with the guy the Patriots invested a first-round draft pick in. Barring injury, Joens will be the guy in New England moving forward.

ESPN denies Mac Jones interception hit Sky Cam wire

Early in the New England Patriots’ loss on Monday Night Football, Jones threw a bad interception on a play he should have thrown the ball away. He was benched for the remainder of the night following the throw. However, following the game, there was speculation online about whether or not ESPN’s equipment got in the way of Jones’ pass.

The ball that Mac Jones threw was a lob, and from an angle, it appears that the ball hit the wire for ESPN’s SkyCam. Had that been seen on the field or in replay, then the play should have been stopped there. It wouldn’t have been an interception. Hypothetically, Jones wouldn’t have been benched in a decision that could alter the future of the Patriots.

You can view the video that set off an online debate, here.

However, ESPN says that Mac Jones’ pass did not make contact with SkyCam. The network released a statement about the incident:

“This pass from Mac Jones did not hit ESPN’s SkyCam wiring. This video creates a false impression, but in reality the SkyCam wire was more than 15 feet above the ball and our SkyCam system followed all NFL protocols.”