Patriots 1st Down: Does Mac Jones still have support inside the locker room?

FOXBORO -- The biggest question surrounding the 2-8 Patriots right now is whether or not Mac Jones will be the team's starting quarterback after their bye week. But we won't be getting an answer until the team returns to practice next week.

We all know what happened in last Sunday's 10-6 loss to Indianapolis in Germany. Mike Gesicki broke free from the Indy defense and could have hauled in a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter had Jones thrown something resembling a good pass. But he underthrew his tight end and floated one right to Colts safety Julian Blackmon, who picked off Jones' duck at the one-yard line.

A dejected Jones stayed on the bench when the Patriots got one final chance, and had to watch as Bailey Zappe unsuccessfully tried to lead a comeback of his own. It's hard to imagine a quarterback bouncing back from a late-game benching in a four-point game, and there has been a lot of chatter about Jones losing his starting job when the Patriots return to action in Week 12 against the New York Giants.

With Jones regressing in his third NFL season, there are reports that he's lost the New England locker room. It's a topic Steve Burton and ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss touched on in Wednesday night's Patriots 1st Down.

While some players may have lost faith in the quarterback, Reiss believes that Jones still has plenty of supporters in Foxboro. And if he does keep his starting job, players would still have his back come Sundays.

"I think it's hard to have the locker room when you have performed the way Mac has," said Reiss. "But I think he has enough of the locker room that if Bill Belichick comes in Monday and tells the team that he's the starting quarterback, they'd rally behind him."

Reiss points to the team's comeback win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 7 and the crowd of Patriots players -- from both sides of the ball -- that surrounded Jones as he was trying to conduct a postgame interview on the field. 

"I didn't see a guy that had really lost the locker room," he said. "But you need results, and that is what Mac has said. It's hard to get people to believe in you when you're not producing."

Will Mac get another shot to produce those results? He got first-team reps when the team had its only practice of the bye week on Wednesday -- at least in the portion of the practice that reporters were allowed to watch. That could just be Bill Belichick playing some mind games and keeping the Giants guessing, or it could be an indication that Jones is still the starter -- for now.

Check out the video above as Reiss also shares his thoughts on Belichick's decision to bench Jones in Week 10. Tune in to Patriots 1st Down every Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. on TV38!