The serial position effect is a psychological phenomenon that explains how human memory is impacted by the order of information.

It states we tend to remember the first and last parts of a sequence better than those in the middle; like items on a grocery list, digits in a phone number or scenes in a movie or TV show.

Or, say, the seasons of a quarterback’s career.

After Bailey Zappe assumed starting reps in practice this week, it appears the Mac Jones era has reached its end in New England. The final image of Jones playing quarterback shows him lying on the turf at MetLife Stadium, having wilted yet again under pressure on a strip sack moments before halftime in a loss to the Giants. That sack followed two earlier interceptions that could only be explained by mind-boggling mental lapses.

“In both of those situations,” offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said this week, “(Jones) would probably be the first to tell you that he has to make a better decision.”

This is how we will remember Jones’ 2023 campaign, a horrendous season summarized by a sad stat line — 64.9% completion percentage, 10 touchdowns and a dozen interceptions — but defined best by images. The sight of Jones dejected, his receivers flailing and coaches dumbfounded.

But how will we remember Jones’ career?

Just two years ago, he completed 23 of 32 passes for 310 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks in a blowout win over the then top-seeded Titans. A week later, the Patriots seized the No. 1 seed in the AFC and eventually a playoff berth. Jones made the Pro Bowl, and Belichick sang like a canary when asked about his quarterback’s improvements the following summer.

FOXBORO MA – November 28: Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots throws during the second quarter of the NFL game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on November 28, 2021 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

He was the new face of the franchise, Tom Brady’s successor. How will we reconcile that start with this ending?

Was Jones the quarterback of his rookie year, one seen only in glimpses since? Like, when he posted a 119.8 passer rating at Minnesota on Thanksgiving last year or a 126.7 mark while leading a fourth-quarter comeback versus Buffalo in October? Or was he the confidence-leaking, pick-throwing puddle benched four times these past three months?

And what changed?

In October, the Herald consulted several league and team sources about the cause of Jones’ downfall. Most were split on whether Jones or Belichick, as the Patriots’ head coach and general manager, was chiefly responsible for the quarterback’s regression. The only consensus seemed to be they had failed one other.

The last three Patriots seasons are not a blame pie divided neatly into slices. It’s a fault soup. Jones’ failures are inseparable from Belichick’s, a negative feedback loop that perpetuated the franchise’s fall.

This season of Patriots history should be known as the end of the Belichick era, a suffering created by Belichick’s mistakes but felt through Jones’. It seems easy enough to assume Jones’ reputation , but his rookie season stands in the way. The pain of the past two seasons is tied to the expectations Jones out-performed and then raised with his play.

Inside Mac Jones’ Patriots downfall from promising rookie to lost QB

That playoff berth, that winning streak, that Pro Bowl all happened. Even for a locker room that lost faith in Jones as a winning player weeks ago, his legacy remains complicated.

“I’ll never have anything negative to say about Mac,” Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki said this week. “He’s the same guy that reached out to me the day after I signed here. He’s the same guy that had me over to his house. He’s the same guy that has led us through good and led us through adversity.

“He’s the same guy, and I think that he deserves a ton of credit for the way that he handles himself, the way that he goes about his process, how he prepares.”

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster agreed.

“He’s been great,” Smith-Schuster said of Jones. “That dude, I’ll tell you one thing, his attitude with everything going on, he’s a very positive dude. A professional. Very supportive of everyone.”

One offensive starter told the Herald privately this week he felt Jones “got a raw deal” in New England. Belichick constructed a fragile roster and immature coaching staff around him as if Jones, who molded himself in Brady’s image, could overcome all circumstances like his predecessor; as if Jones would soar with a talent-starved team strapped to his shoulder pads and carry it with him.

Instead, Jones crashed, and the Patriots did, too.

Callahan: Mac Jones has lost the locker room and 6 more Patriots thoughts at the bye

As for Brady, his standing in NFL history is obviously defined by seven Super Bowl rings. But Brady also arrived immediately, leaving an indelible first impression by winning a title in his first season as a starter that introduced him as a winner. Brady then claimed two more titles in his penultimate year with the Patriots and later the Buccaneers; building as bullet-proof a case for being the greatest of all time there’s ever been.

Like Brady, all of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks — Montana, Manning and Elway — live in our memory as the greatest because they started fast, finished strong or both. Barring a miracle, Jones will never become a great quarterback. As the ink dries on his time in New England, Jones needs time to prove this ending is only another beginning; while observers wonder whether the middle season of his tenure, the most mediocre and forgettable, a 2022 mix of functional play and panicked messes later pinned on coaching, may have been the most telling season of his Patriots career.

Zappe takes the reins

Patriots backup quarterback Bailey Zappe will start Sunday, according to The Athletic, though there is little indication he will play vastly better football than what he’s shown to date.

According to one source, Zappe’s practice performance mirrored what he showed in prior weeks when Mac Jones out-played him. Zappe did cap the week by running a 2-minute drill at the end of Friday’s in-stadium practice, as concrete a sign as any he’ll start. Undrafted rookie quarterback/receiver Malik Cunningham also rotated under center in practice, and it’s expected he will have a package of plays to run against the Chargers, per The Athletic.

There was no discernible difference in energy at practice, per sources, despite a recent swell of internal support for a quarterback change. Zappe has completed 48.7% of his passes this season for 158 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Peppers apologizes

New England Patriots defensive back Jabrill Peppers warms up before playing against the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)

Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers apologized Friday for a comment he made to Giants running back Saquon Barkley on the field after last weekend’s 10-7 loss in New York.

NFL Films captured the moment and release it, causing the quote to go viral. Peppers told Barkley, “You lucky we ass,” referring to the team’s poor record and performance.

On Friday, Peppers admitted the Patriots have not performed to expectations, but told reporters he knows better to make those comments. His apology lasted roughly three minutes, as he stood in front of his locker before a throng of cameras and writers.

“First of all, I just want to apologize to my teammates and the coaches for even having to answer questions about that. We’ve got more important things to worry about than me being caught on a hot mic. But at the end of the day, we’re 2-9 and we’ve got a Top 5 pick in the draft that didn’t come via trade,” Peppers said.

“We all know the standard. We know what it’s supposed to look like, and it’s not that right now. It’s no shot at anybody in the locker room. I said ‘we.’ We own that. I own that.. .. I’m a professional, so things like that should never happen. No need to blame anyone but myself. It’s my seventh year in the league, I’m 28 years old and I know better.

He continued: “So I just want to apologize again, man, because I don’t ever want to be a distraction. We’ve got enough things to worry about around here. I try to be a guy to go out there and lead by example, play hard down in, down out. But we all own that, and I want to be a part of the solution. So, it is what it is. But the guys in here, they know me. They know I speak my mind. They know I’m honest. I just got caught on a hot mic, man, that’s all that was.”

Quote of the Week

“Got everybody hunting for the elf.” — Bill Belichick on if he’s seeking the elf on the shelf in the Patriots’ locker room.