FOXBORO — The Patriots’ quarterback controversy seemingly will continue even after Bailey Zappe replaced Mac Jones as the starter in Week 13.

The Patriots will play four days after they were shut out by the Chargers 6-0 at Gillette Stadium, so head coach Bill Belichick was asked if Zappe will start Thursday night against the Steelers.

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“Yeah, we just finished the game,” Belichick said Sunday afternoon.

This is now the third straight game that Belichick wouldn’t commit to a starter after a loss. After previous losses earlier in the season, Belichick named Jones as the Patriots’ starter.

“Yeah, well we just finished the game,” Belichick repeated. “So, we haven’t even started on Pittsburgh yet.”

Zappe went just 13-of-25 for 141 yards and took five sacks in Sunday’s shutout loss. He avoided any of the interceptions that have plagued him and Jones so far this season, but it wasn’t enough to get the Patriots inside the red zone.

“Yeah, biggest thing is for the quarterback position is not throw interceptions. We were able to do that today, but we weren’t able to score points,” Zappe said. “We’ve got to score points, and that starts with me, and that starts with, like I said, just making smarter decisions and just growing in the things that we did good today and learning from the things that we didn’t do good. It’s a short week, but we’ll get after it tomorrow and be ready for Thursday.”

In Zappe’s final chance to mount a game-winning drive, he threw three straight incompletions for a turnover on downs late in the fourth quarter. It was the second time the Patriots have been shut out this season at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots have now lost three straight games while allowing 10 or fewer points.

“Some good things and some bad things,” Zappe said to sum up Sunday’s performance. “We had a chance there at the end. Defense played great. Offense, it starts with me. I’ve got to make plays towards the end. I’ve got to throw better balls. I’ve got to make the balls catchable, especially in conditions like today — wet ball, wet hands. I’ve got to throw the ball better. It starts with me on the offensive side in getting things going.”

Belichick was asked after the game what led to his decision to finally play Zappe and bench Jones.

“I thought he deserved it,” Belichick responded.

The team went 2-9 with Jones as their starter and benched him in four separate games before Zappe finally took over on Sunday. Belichick explained why the team didn’t replace Jones as the starter earlier.

“Because we gave Mac [Jones] the opportunity to work through his progression with the offense,” Belichick said. “Obviously we hadn’t had a lot of production. I thought Bailey deserved a chance to play, so he played today.”

It seems likely that Zappe will start again on Thursday against the Steelers. The Patriots’ other options would be Jones, rookie Malik Cunningham, who was active but didn’t play Sunday, or practice-squad third-stringer Will Grier.