Bailey Zappe put up another impressive performance on Sunday, helping the New England Patriots upset the Denver Broncos en route to his second win over four starts this season. While the win brought some happiness, it also made some wonder what Mac Jones' future looks like, but Bill O'Brien doesn't seem to be too worried about that.
The Patriots offensive coordinator was asked what message he'd send to the now-benched quarterback after Zappe's recent performance when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday. O'Brien kept a positive one in his message.
“I feel good about Mac Jones, I really do,” O’Brien said. “I think Mac Jones is a smart guy. He’s a very hard worker. He’s really done a good job in this situation here of being a good teammate.”
As you likely know, Jones' play mightily regressed over the last two seasons after a strong rookie campaign. The third-year quarterback showed some promise at the start of the season before getting benched twice in a row in losses to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively. He threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles over those games, with three of those turnovers going the other way for scores.
Zappe to Gesicki extends the @Patriots lead!
📺: #NEvsDEN on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/uY6Dg380OO pic.twitter.com/WrETjMvsOZ— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2023
Jones briefly got back on track in late October but he was benched in back-to-back games again in November, finding himself on the bench for the final drive of the Patriots' loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10 and was benched at halftime against the New York Giants in Week 12.
O'Brien believes that Jones is just in a valley at this point in his career.
“Look, these are things that happen in the course of a lot of careers, right? You have some ups and downs,” O’Brien later added. “He’s approached it the right way. He’s working hard. I believe in Mac. So I think Mac’s going to be just fine.”
What Bill O'Brien said of Bailey Zappe's recent performance for Patriots
As Jones struggled not to turn the ball over prior to his benching, Zappe hasn't been as turnover-prone in his four starts. He's thrown two interceptions and has a lost fumble over New England's last four games, largely keeping the ball safe. He also arguably had the best game of his career on Sunday, completing 25 of 33 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Broncos.
O'Brien stated Tuesday that he likes Zappe's pocket presence, believing that gaining more reps has helped him over time.
“Bailey’s a very consistent guy,” O’Brien said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “He’s calm, he’s poised, he’s got that. What he doesn’t have is experience. He’s gaining experience — I’m not saying he doesn’t have any experience — but you cannot discount experience and what that means to your career. The more reps you get in practice or the more reps you get in a game, obviously, that means a lot to your career if you take advantage of it, and that’s something Zap has done a good job of.”
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