FOXBORO, Mass. — The last two weeks haven’t been easy on the Patriots, but that doesn’t mean someone is going around and making sure their feelings aren’t hurt.
New England was blown out Monday night by the Chicago Bears, falling to 3-4 on the season by way of a 33-14 loss at Gillette Stadium. Pretty much everything since that game kicked off has been ugly.
It started with Mac Jones, who returned following a three-week absence but was benched after just three drives when he threw an ugly interception that may or may not have been interfered with. That’s when Bailey Zappe, the starter in Weeks 5 and 6, came in to electrify the home crowd for a couple of series before turning into a proverbial pumpkin and leading a disastrous offensive showing in the second half. The Patriots lost, the roster seemed confused, their fans were unhappy and head coach Bill Belichick refused to provide an answer on his decision regarding the QB’s, leading everyone to wonder what’s next following the game.
That alone is enough to drive someone up the wall, let alone players who are directly effected by all of it. Despite that, Patriots captain Devin McCourty doesn’t feel the need to go around and help pick his teammates up.
“I’m a dad, so I do that with my kids. I really don’t come to work to pat guys on the back and say, ‘Come on, buddy,’ ” McCourty said Wednesday. “We don’t really have guys that walk around and act like the world is falling. We’re all doing pretty well in here, we get to play football. All of us have played with a ton of guys who would dream to be in this position.
“Sometimes you help a guy out who may have some issues going on. You’ve got guys with newborn babies who might be a little bit tired, but I don’t think the world is crashing down on nobody. We’re not running this huge daycare…”
While the mood in the locker room following Monday’s loss was somber, Patriots players seemingly got some answers Wednesday with a recent report stating Jones took the majority of first-team reps in practice and will be the starter Sunday when New England travels to face the surging New York Jets.
Kickoff for the Week 8 matchup is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
