The New England Patriots' season is off to the worst imaginable start. Bill Belichick's squad is 1-4 with the worst point differential in the league. After two decades of dominance with Tom Brady, the world's most spoiled fanbase has been treated to a sobering dose of mediocrity.
Naturally, the primary focus ahead of the Patriots' Week 6 face-off with the Las Vegas Raiders is the QB situation. Mac Jones has been yanked early in consecutive games. For the season, he has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,008 yards, five touchdowns, and six costly interceptions.
There has been a rising tidal wave of support for New England's backup QBs, Bailey Zappe and Will Grier. Jones is only 25 years old, but he doesn't have the arm strength to move the ball downfield (6.0 yards per attempt) and his "mistake-free" billing out of Alabama has proven inaccurate.
Jones was supposed to make up for limited physical tools with football I.Q. and poise. Well, it sorta worked as a rookie, but Jones has now spent the last 1.5 years looking completely outclassed. There are other parties to blame — offensive line, receiving corps, front office, even coaching staff — but at the end of the day, the onus falls on Jones. He has to perform better.
Now, ahead of Sunday's game, the QB is operating with a short leash. According to NFL.com scribe Ian Rapoport, the Pats will start Jones against the Raiders. That said, a slow start could lead to a quick reshuffling of the deck. Zappe and Grier have both had "their fair share" of practice reps this week, per Rapoport, with New England spreading reps evenly between their three signal-callers.
Mac Jones has short leash in Patriots vs. Raiders Week 6 matchup
Jones has zero touchdowns and four interceptions over his last two outings. He gets the luxury of a vulnerable Raiders defense this week, but it's starting to feel like Jones simply doesn't have it. The Patriots are in full-blown tank mode at this point; any "solution" will be temporary, with all eyes glued to Caleb Williams as the prospective No. 1 pick in next April's NFL Draft.
Bailey Zappe and Will Grier both performed well in preseason and earned glowing reviews. There was a point before the season where Belichick wouldn't commit to Jones over Zappe, so one has to imagine he — not Grier — is the favorite to replace Jones in the event of another meltdown. New England also signed undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham from its practice squad this week, adding fuel to the fire beneath Jones' seat.
Still, Rapoport reports that the recently added Grier is "studying quickly." Zappe, 24, has more long-term equity than Grier, 28, but there's a chance Belichick's designs don't align with the front office. After two decades of Super Bowl contention, the GOAT probably isn't too interested in a blatant tank. The Patriots would prefer to at least mount a respectable losing season, if nothing else.
With his job on the line, we will see if Jones steps up to the plate. It will be difficult with top weapons JuJu Smith-Schuster and Demario Douglas out, but Jones has no choice but to perform.
