Mac Jones benched at halftime vs. Giants for Bailey Zappe

BOSTON -- Mac Jones got the start at quarterback on Sunday against the Giants. It did not go well.

Jones went just 4-for-9 for 37 yards in the first quarter, and he ended that opening quarter by throwing an ugly interception.

The quarterback threw to a well-covered Demario Douglas running a deep out, but he airmailed the receiver. The pass went over the head of Douglas and into the bread basket of Deonte Banks.

Banks made the catch while tapping his toes before going out of the bounds, recording the interception at the Giants' 43-yard line.

Saquon Barkley then immediately helped flip the field by breaking off a 19-yard run, putting the Giants in solid position to score in a 0-0 game. However, the Giants failed to capitalize, eventually punting the ball back to New England.

Despite the pick and the unimpressive first quarter (which also saw Jones throw behind Tyquan Thornton on an in-cutting route), the Patriots did not turn to Bailey Zappe to start the second quarter, with Jones remaining in the game.

But Jones failed to capitalize on his second chance. He barely avoided throwing another interception on a third-and-15 completion to DeVante Parker, but three plays later when facing pressure from Isaiah Simmons, Jones made a poor decision to throw a panicked pass directly to linebacker Bobby Okereke.

Okereke made the easy interception and then took off running for 55 yards, flipping the field and again setting the Giants up in position to score.

This time, the Giants did score with that bonus possession, with Isaiah Hodgins coming through with a 12-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown on a third-and-10 in the red zone.

And when the Patriots' offense took the field again, Jones was still at quarterback for New England. Jones threw an incompletion on a deep pass to Kayshon Boutte to start that drive, a pass that was nearly intercepted as well. And on third down, Jones escaped a sack and took off running, only to get stripped by Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Patriots managed to recover that fumble, allowing them to punt the ball back to the Giants.

And while Jones finished out the first half with a handoff, Bailey Zappe took the field for the second half. That marked the fourth time in 11 games Jones has been benched for Zappe. The Patriots immediately scored, with Zappe completing all five of his passes (for 38 yards) and with Rhamondre Stevenson plunging into the end zone from the 7-yard line to tie the game at 7-7.

Unfortunately for Zappe, he threw an interception of his own. In the fourth quarter, with the score still tied at 7-7, Zappe threw a pick similar to Jones' first, when he tried to hit a well-covered JuJu Smith-Schuster, with three defenders surrounding the receiver. Xavier McKinney stepped in front of the pass and picked it off, returning it 18 yards to the New England 32-yard line.

Zappe finished the game 9-for-14 for just 54 yards with no touchdowns and the interception. The Patriots lost, 10-7.