Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers reacts to Mac Jones getting benched
Mac Jones got the start at quarterback for the New England Patriots during their Week 7 "Monday Night Football" contest against the Chicago Bears, but his outing didn't last long. Coming off of a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 3, Jones missed the team's last three games, and after backup Brian Hoyer went down with a concussion, rookie Bailey Zappe took over under center the last two-plus games leading into Monday.
It was reported ahead of the primetime matchup between Chicago and New England that there was a chance that fans would see both Jones and Zappe taking snaps. That ended up being true, as Jones got the start, but went just 3-for-6 for 13 yards, while throwing once interception, before being replaced by Zappe after three offensive possessions.
"I would say it's a shock, but we don't really have time to focus on it too much," Meyers added. "The bullets are already flying by the time we realized it. You have to go out there and keep making plays."
After back-to-back three-and-outs to start the eventual 33-14 New England loss, fans at Gillette Stadium began chanting "Zappe! Zappe!"
"You hate to see one of your brothers treated like that," Meyers said. "You want to see him do well. You want to see everybody do well, including Zappe, but as far as getting caught up in it, you really don't have time to really focus on the decisions being made."
While the rookie started out hot -- leading the Patriots on a pair of touchdown drives -- he faltered in the second half, finishing with a pair of interceptions and a fumble lost as well. After the loss, head coach Bill Belichick continued to act coy when it came to announcing a Week 8 starter.
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