Mac Jones starts at quarterback for Patriots vs. Giants

BOSTON -- After all that ... it's still Mac.

The Patriots turned to Mac Jones as their starting quarterback on Sunday in New Jersey, as was reported Saturday night by the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan.

That decision concluded a two-week stretch where there had been quite a bit of mystery surrounding who the Patriots' starting quarterback may be, after Jones was benched in the fourth quarter of New England's loss to the Colts in Germany.

Bailey Zappe entered that game for Jones with a chance to lead a game-winning drive, but instead threw an interception on a fake spike, essentially ending the game.

Many fans have called upon Will Grier to get a chance to start a game, but the career backup was released by the team on Saturday.

Outside of Jones and Zappe, undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham (on the practice squad) is the only other player with quarterback experience on the roster. The Patriots, though, appear intent on keeping him as a wide receiver.

For two weeks, Bill Belichick has refused to publicly announce the starting quarterback, insisting multiple times this week that he's simply told all of his players to be ready to play.

The Athletic's Jeff Howe said Saturday that "a rotation" at QB or "a quick hook" for the starter are both possible.

The 2-8 Patriots kicked off against the 3-8 Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. And after two weeks of intrigue and mystery, Mac Jones was the one taking the first offensive snaps when the game began.

Jones threw an incompletion on his first pass of the day on a third-and-7 slant to DeVante Parker, a pass which came after Jones and the offense took a delay of game penalty on third-and-2.