Why didn't Kayshon Boutte play? Were J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones benched? Bill Belichick won't really say

BOSTON -- Among the many reasons the Patriots lost on Sunday was the fact that the visiting Commanders moved the ball 122 yards on 22 plays over two drives while building a 10-0 lead early in the game.

The Patriots also had some notable absences from their defense early in the game, with cornerbacks J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones starting the game on the sideline. Shaun Wade and Myles Bryant got starts in their place. 

Jones and Jackson eventually entered the game, which Washington won, 20-17. Jackson entered the game on Washington's third drive, and Jones entered after the first quarter. Head coach Bill Belichick was asked directly after the game if the two players were benched to start the game.

"No," he replied. 

Belichick was then asked why Shaun Wade started but didn't play after the opening series. Belichick cut off the question.

"They all -- everybody played," he said. "They all played."

Belichick was then asked why Wade didn't play after the first series.

"They all played," Belichick repeated.

Later in Belichick's postgame press conference, he was once again asked directly if Jones not playing for the first quarter was a disciplinary decision.

"We played all the corners," he said. "I think we played all the safeties. I think we played everybody on defense."

The questions ended there, and neither Jackson nor Jones spoke to the media after the game. But The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported that the two players had indeed been benched due to recent poor performance.

After the game, Jones also liked a tweet that said he should have pleaded guilty to the weapons charges he faced over the summer.

Belichick is likely to be asked about the matter again on Monday morning, though his answers are sure to remain the same.

The other roster decision made by Belichick on Sunday that drew quite a bit of attention was the call to not have rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte on the active game-day roster. With Kendrick Bourne suffering a torn ACL last week, and with Tyquan Thornton being a healthy scratch last week as well, the signs were pointing to Boutte playing in a game for the first time since Week 1. Belichick even said Friday that Boutte had his best week of practice, and Boutte himself had talked to the media during the week as if he was expecting to play.

Nevertheless, Boutte was inactive on Sunday, so Belichick was asked why that decision was made.

"We activated the players that we felt were the best players to put into the game," he said.

Belichick was asked about his comment about Boutte's strong week of practice and why he made that assessment.

"Because it was. I thought it was. I thought he had a good week of practice, that's why I said that," Belichick answered.

Instead of offering a qualitative explanation, Belichick simply stated that the Patriots went with Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor and Thornton at receiver, while also including tight end Mike Gesicki in the process.

"We activated the other four receivers, and Mike. I mean Mike's really our fifth receiver," Belichick said. 

Belichick was asked one more question about the matter, specifically asking if the team wanted to run more two-tight end sets, thus leading to four receivers being active.

"Yeah, Mike's like our fifth receiver," Belichick reiterated. "And he played a lot."

Boutte being inactive drew a lot of attention, largely because fans often have high hopes for young players who enter the league with even a little bit of fanfare. And while it's unclear if he would have made much of a difference in the game -- he did have zero receptions on four targets in Week 1 -- the low performance from the rest of the receivers does bring the decision into further scrutiny. Thornton caught one pass for seven yards, while Reagor caught one pass for 11 yards on six targets.

Of course, with the Patriots at 2-7, it's fair to question if anything really matters for a team having its worst season in 23 years. Still, the point is that the layer of mystery and intrigue with some game-day roster decisions feels wholly unnecessary at this particular point in time.