EAST RUTHERFORD — The Patriots are a shell of what they once were in all but one area: Head coach Bill Belichick, and his quarterbacks, are still among the NFL’s best in deflecting when asked direct questions.

After a two-week mystery over who would start at quarterback for the Patriots, Mac Jones took the first snap of the first half. Backup Bailey Zappe was inserted into the game for the first snap of the second half.

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“Yeah, I thought both guys deserved a chance to play,” Belichick said after the 10-7 loss to the Giants about his decision to start Jones.

Belichick was asked if the plan was to play Zappe in the second half or if that decision was based on the result of Jones’ play. The Patriots’ starter threw two interceptions — one near the end of the first quarter and another towards the end of the second quarter.

“Told everybody to be ready to go,” Belichick said. “I thought they both deserved to play.”

Jones, who was benched for the fourth time this season, finished 12-of-21 for 89 yards with two interceptions. Zappe was 9-of-14 for 54 yards with an interception.

Belichick would not name a starter for the Patriots’ Week 13 matchup against the Chargers.

“We just finished the game,” he said.

He might need to decide between Jones and Zappe again. The team cut third-stringer Will Grier on Saturday. He must clear waivers Monday at 4 p.m. for the Patriots to bring him back. Malik Cunningham told the Herald that he hasn’t practiced at quarterback since Week 6, but Belichick answered, “I think there’s an opportunity for everybody” when asked if Sunday’s result could lead to snaps for the rookie.

It’s also unclear when players found out who would start Sunday’s game. Belichick claimed he didn’t remember.

“Sometime during the week,” he said.

Belichick did say that he told quarterbacks before they traveled to New Jersey.

Tight end Hunter Henry said players found out, “today, when we went out.”

Wide receiver DeVante Parker said, “They announced it, like, the day of or something.”

Parker said he did not find that unusual.

Neither quarterback would disclose when they found out who would start.

“I think that’s a — private conversations that we have during the week,” Zappe said. “I think that’s a question for Coach Belichick on when he made the decision. But I’ll keep that between us and the coaches.”

“We had talked about it,” Jones said. “Like you just brought up, you have to take advantage of the reps you get in practice. Just got to do a better job translating it.”

Jones and Zappe split first-team reps during the week. Players said that the two quarterbacks had already been rotating in practice, so it was nothing new.

Jones was asked if he believes he was put in the best position to win since he wasn’t taking all of the top reps in practice.

“Yeah, it’s my job to go out there and play well regardless of the circumstance,” Jones said. “There’s no excuses not to. I had a few bad throws and just wasn’t on the same page with the offense today. So, I’ve got to do a better job creating that standard and making sure we communicate.”

Jones and Zappe would both answer how they found out Jones would be benched and Zappe would start the second half.

“As far as I know, we walked into the locker room, and OB (offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien) looked at me and said, ‘Hey, you’re starting off the second half.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and that’s really about it,” Zappe said.

“Coach O’Brien told me I was out and I understood,” Jones said. “I wasn’t moving the ball. I wasn’t scoring points. I understand why that happened.”