The Patriots benched Mac Jones at halftime of Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Giants and many saw it as a long overdue move given how poorly the offense has played during the team’s 2-9 start.
As the team’s starting quarterback, Jones has predictably drawn the most criticism for what’s gone wrong but the team’s top offensive assistant coach doesn’t think that’s right. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien
“Things haven’t gone great for him this year,” O’Brien said, via Michael Hurley of WBZ. “I don’t think that he’s the No. 1 guy to blame. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I’m the one who designs it, and it’s not going very well.”
O’Brien is calling the plays and Jones has been the one executing them, but any blame for how things have gone in New England has to start with Bill Belichick. He’s been the head coach and de facto General Manager for decades, so there isn’t anywhere else for the buck has to stop when it comes to working on cleaning up the mess that is their current state.