Patriots

What Mac Jones, Jakobi Meyers said about ‘Zappe’ chants after comeback falls short

"I can roll with him any day," Meyers said of Jones.

Mac Jones and the Patriots nearly came back Saturday but fell short. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

December 24, 2022

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For the first three quarters of the game, the Patriots‘ offense looked lifeless.

After back-to-back three and outs to start the game, fans at Gillette Stadium began chanting for Bailey Zappe. New England trailed by three scores at halftime, which was a steep deficit against the reigning AFC champions.

While it started off sluggish and tedious, the performance Mac Jones turned in on Saturday ended up being one of his best of the season. The loss to the Bengals is one of two games during which Jones has thrown for multiple touchdowns without throwing an interception.

When asked about the way the offense responded in the second half, receiver Jakobi Meyers gave Jones a shoutout for his resilience.

“That isn’t the first time that it’s happened this year, honestly. He’s dealt with it all year,” Meyers said. “Guy’s ready to pass to it the next guy. But he keeps going out there battling. He takes shots, gets back up. He make mistakes, he comes back up try to fix it. Shout out to Mac. It’s a tough guy mentally and physically. I can roll with him any day, because at the end of the day regardless of what people say he’s going to go out and fight the hardest.”

Jones took accountability for the offense’s slow start. The Patriots scored 18 points in the second half after they were shut out in the first half.

“Just got to keep working, got to watch the film and keep working together I think,” Jones said. “We didn’t quit. We fought hard and at the end of the day, we got to score more points. And we got the ball moving a little bit. But just want to capitalize and score more points. So falls on me as a quarterback. And super disappointed, but also a lot to look back on and realize that we have fighters on this team.”

Jones listed Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Devin McCourty, and Matthew Slater among the players he looks up to. He said he doesn’t foresee their fighting spirit changing, even as the Patriots’ playoff chances continue to slide further away.

“I’ve been able to watch my first two years here.” Jones said. “And the best players on our team are the toughest players and there’s times when I need to be more tough and stand in there and rip it and all that stuff. We’re all out there competing. That’s what it’s all about.”