3 Reasons Mac Jones Must Be Benched for Week 7

3. Someone Else Deserves a Chance

At this point, we've seen enough of Jones. He's been New England's starting quarterback for 2 1/2 seasons now, and the results have been incredibly lackluster.

Jones' rookie season was a high point, but it's been all downhill since then. He went 1-4 to close out that season (including playoffs), went 6-8 in 2022 and is now 1-5 to begin 2023. That's a horrendous 8-17 record over his last 25 starts.

That's a big enough sample size to know that Jones isn't "the guy" and needs to be replaced. Bailey Zappe still hasn't gotten a start this year despite going 2-0 as a starter last season. Granted, he didn't play well in preseason and hasn't played well in relief of Jones, but perhaps he'd perform better if he knew he was starting rather than being tossed into the middle of a blazing inferno mid-game.

What the Patriots really want to see, however, is for rookie Malik Cunningham to get a look. He's yet to throw a pass for New England this season, but the Patriots just committed to him by elevating him from the practice squad and signing him to a three-year deal.

That suggests Cunningham is ready for the NFL, and the only way the Patriots will know for sure is by giving him a chance. He's still raw and has a lot of learning to do, but the team needs to let him work through those issues and learn from actual game experience rather than sitting on the bench.

Nobody expects New England to beat Buffalo in Week 7, so the Pats have nothing to lose. They might as well give Cunningham a shot and see what he has.

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