Bill Belichick benched quarterback Mac Jones for the second consecutive week in the New England Patriots' 34-0 Week 5 loss to the New Orleans Saints. However, after the game, the head coach says Jones is still the team's starting QB.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said he pulled Mac Jones because of the score,” NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero tweeted on Sunday. “Will Mac be the starter moving forward? ‘Yeah, there are a lot of problems. Certainly wasn’t all him.'”

Losing 34-0, which is the second-worst loss of Bill Belichick's career after last week's 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, certainly isn't all Mac Jones' fault, but he was a big part of it. The Patriots' starting QB was 12-of-22 for 110 yards playing with no touchdowns and two interceptions. And one of those interceptions was a pick-six.

The good news for Jones is that his replacement, Bailey Zappe, didn't fare any better. The backup walked away 3-of-9 for 22 yards. And Zappe seemingly isn't a signal-caller that Belichick has much confidence in anymore. After coming in and playing well last season, Zappe never truly challenged Jones for the starting role. In fact, the young QB was so far out of the picture that Belichick cut him at the end of training camp before signing him back to the practice squad and then the active roster.

One this Belichick didn't commit to in the comments above is how much longer Jones will be the starter after the Patriots Week 5 loss to the Saints. We know he will take the first snap of Week 6 against the Las Vegas Raiders but with brutal AFC East matchups with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in Weeks 7 and 8, Jones could be done for good soon.