It’s the return of the Mac for the New England Patriots this week. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, quarterback Mac Jones is expected to start for the Patriots on Monday against the Bears after missing the last three weeks with an ankle injury.
Barring a setback, Patriots QB Mac Jones is expected to start tomorrow night against the Bears, per source. Jones missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) October 23, 2022
While Jones was on the mend, rookie Bailey Zappe stole the show. The fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky went 2-0 in his starts and nearly came back against the Green Bay Packers when he took over for backup Brian Hoyer, who initially got the nod in Jones’ absence.
Despite Zappe’s impressive performance where he threw four touchdowns to just one interception for a quarterback rating of 111.4, head coach Bill Belichick turned back to his second-year starter. Jones has struggled this year, throwing just two touchdowns and five interceptions with a quarterback rating of 76.2. That had some believing a quarterback controversy was brewing, but Jones gets his job back against fellow second-year signal caller Justin Fields.
The Bears and Fields have had success against second-year quarterbacks this season. Their two wins came against Trey Lance’s San Francicso 49ers in Week 1 and Davis Mills’ Houston Texans in Week 3. Both players were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft with Fields. Now, he gets his chance to go 3-0 against Jones.
The Bears and Patriots square off on Monday Night Football, beginning at 7:15 pm CT on ESPN.
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