Patriots reporter claims Bill Belichick misled media on Mac Jones: "All for show"

Long before the Mac Jones era, Bill Belichick has been as tricky as any coach in his dealings with the media. However, the New England Patriots coach allegedly lied to the media all week about who the starting quarterback would be.

In a report by Masslive, two players revealed that they knew Jones would start the entire week. Here's how writer Mark Daniels put his accusation:

"Remember when Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe were competing in practice? Turns out, that was all for show. Two offensive players told me last night that they knew Jones was starting all week. Belichick said the same today."

He then discussed an interview Belichick gave WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" that was telling. Here's what Belichick said in the interview:

“Mac got the majority of the reps. But Zappe got plenty of reps this week. ... I don’t announce starters. I don’t announce starters at any position.”

In the article, Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott allegedly confessed that they didn't doubt for a second that Mac Jones would be the starter this week. Elliott revealed as much in a post-game conversation:

"We knew the whole time."

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Will Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe start next week?

Bailey Zappe at New England Patriots v New York Giants

With the jig up and the game now concluded, the conversation has once again returned to the same place it was last Monday. The first indicator of which player will start begins with Bailey Zappe and Jones' performances in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants.

Put simply, the game was a defensive struggle where both offenses failed to get anything going. However, while Jones and Zappe saw time in the contest, neither quarterback seemed to be the solution.

Mac Jones completed 12 of 21 passes for 89 yards and two interceptions. Meanwhile, Zappe completed nine of 14 passes for 54 yards and an interception. Zappe appears to have technically had the better game, so signs point to him getting the start.

However, with both quarterbacks seemingly alternating in each contest, the question at this point isn't whether which player starts. Instead, the question is which player will get the majority of the reps in the game. At this point, the position is a complete no-go for fantasy football managers as the team struggles to find an identity at their heart.

Mac Jones started last week, so no matter what Belichick says, Jones appears to have the starting job on lock, at least until the offense proves ineffective. The Patriots play the Los Angeles Chargers next week, so the starter should get through most of the game, as the team has the worst-ranked pass defense in the NFL.