Patriots OC Bill O'Brien Defends Mac Jones After Benching In Embarrassing Loss

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The New England Patriots are not a good football team right now. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 38-3, on Sunday. That's the worst loss of Bill Belichick's 24-year Patriots career. It's not all on quarterback Mac Jones, but he didn't help the cause. Neither did offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.

As the game got out of hand, Belichick decided that he saw enough. He replaced Jones with backup Bailey Zappe in the third quarter, one series after Jones' second interception.

But O'Brien stood up for his quarterback on Tuesday. He said that Sunday's game is not indicative of Jones' abilities and expects him to get better.

"Some of the decisions that he made were very uncharacteristic of Mac," O'Brien said, according to ESPN. "He's just trying to make a play, he's wanting to win, he's very competitive. I think you'll see a lot of improvement in Mac as we keep moving forward here."

New England Patriots QB Mac Jones warms up next to offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien prior to the team's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

New England Patriots QB Mac Jones warms up next to offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien prior to the team's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Bill O'Brien said what he had to say about Patriots QB Mac Jones

The problem is that Mac Jones is in his third season. And, he's not improving; he's getting worse. He played his best during his rookie season, leading the Patriots to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth. Since then, though, he's 7-11 in the regular season.

His completion percentage fell in his second season and is even lower through four games this year. The same holds true for his quarterback rating.

Bill O'Brien has to defend his quarterback. Is Mac Jones the future in New England? Most likely not.

But they don’t have any better options right now. If Belichick believed in Zappe, he wouldn’t have released him prior to the season. If other teams believed in Zappe, they would have signed him.

The question, really, is whether or not it's time for the Patriots to enter tank mode. There are several intriguing quarterback prospects in the NFL Draft, including presumptive #1 overall pick Caleb Williams out of USC.

Tom Brady isn’t coming back.

It’s time to start thinking about the future.

Mac Jones isn't the future.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.