The 4 biggest mistakes that doomed the Patriots in 2022

3 of 4

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 06: Bailey Zappe #4 of the New England Patriots and Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots take to the field before a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images) /

3. The quarterback carousel

When Mac Jones went down at the end of the game against the Ravens with what was later revealed to be a high ankle sprain, it was immediately clear the Patriots’ season was going to be a doozy.

With a big game set for week four against the Packers, Belichick declared seasoned veteran Brian Hoyer the starter, much to the dismay of the fans. It made sense then, primarily due to Hoyer’s experience in the league and with the team. But because the quarterback hadn’t performed well in the last few games he got the start in, there wasn’t much optimism about the weeks ahead.

But the Hoyer experience lasted only a short time, as he was injured early in the game in Green Bay and was replaced by rookie Bailey Zappe.

Despite being his first start in the NFL, Zappe kept the game close all day long, even taking the Aaron Rodgers-led team into an entire quarter of overtime. Regardless of the loss, the rookie’s performance became the hottest of topics in New England and brought the excitement many had been missing.

Zappe went on to win the next two games, against the Lions and the Browns, with Jones said to be returning in week seven against Chicago.

That’s when things began moving downhill.

Although Jones’s injury was said to keep him out for a minimum of four weeks, the quarterback was back after missing just three games. He started the game against the Bears but was taken out after just three drives and replaced with Zappe.

The decision to seemingly bench Jones so early in the game was confusing, which only got more twists and turns when Belichick was questioned about the decision.

In the following weeks, Jones didn’t receive unwavering support to remain the starting quarterback from his head coach, which enabled former Patriots players and many fans to shout for Zappe’s return nearly every week until the end of the season. Unfortunately, Belichick didn’t end the speculation and proclaim Jones as QB1 for the remainder of the season, nor did he shut down the demands for Zappe.

With all that Jones had to deal with in his second season, not receiving the endorsement from Belichick couldn’t have been easy. Belichick’s stance has remained the same, as he danced around the question heading into the offseason about Jones’ future as the guy.

Home/Patriots News