Patriots Rumors: Mac Jones 'Emotionally and Mentally Beat Up' After Week 12 Benching

If it has seemed like New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was feeling the weight of a difficult season on his shoulders, there's a good explanation for that.

Per Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal, a Patriots team source described Jones as "emotionally and mentally beat up" after being benched yet again in Sunday's 10-7 loss to the New York Giants.

Jones has been benched four times in 11 starts this season. He was previously taken out in losses to the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

The loss to the Giants was the first time that Jones got pulled from a game before the fourth quarter. He was replaced by Bailey Zappe at halftime after going 12-of-21 for 89 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

There was some optimism about Jones and the Patriots' offense coming into this season. After the disaster of 2022 when Matt Patricia was calling plays, head coach Bill Belichick hired an experienced offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien.

It hasn't made a difference, at least not a positive one. The Patriots have the second-worst offense in the NFL by points per game (13.5). They've scored 13 points in their last two games combined against the Giants and Colts.

Belichick hasn't officially named a starter for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, but The Athletic's Jeff Howe noted Zappe is being prepared to get the nod if all goes well in practice this week.

Jones has the worst completion percentage (64.9), QBR (36.5) and fewest passing yards per game (192.7) of his career. He's thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) in 11 games.

Zach Wilson, Desmond Ridder, Jimmy Garoppolo, Ryan Tannehill, Daniel Jones and Aidan O'Connell are the only other quarterbacks who have started at least five games with more interceptions than touchdowns.

Jones is far from the only problem the Patriots have had this season. Their 2-9 record is the third-worst mark in the NFL, ahead of the Carolina Panthers (1-10) and Arizona Cardinals (2-10).

This is the fourth consecutive season that Belichick has lost at least nine games. He had one season with that many losses from 2000 to '19.