Does Bill Belichick trust Mac Jones more than Tom Brady?

Bill Belichick had the final say with Tom Brady and he has the final say with Mac Jones. If he wanted to effectively keep one of the quarterbacks out of the game plan, he could do it with a snap of his fingers.

So, after Mac Jones' three-pass performance on Monday Night Football, it's fair to ask how much he trusts Mac Jones in his rookie season.

How much does this compare to how he used Brady back in his first season as a starter?

Jones vs Brady: Who has/had more trust with Belichick?

Tennessee Titans v New England Patriots

Tom Brady's case

Tom Brady never had a game in which he threw three passes. The game that saw him throw the least passes in his first season was in his first game in which he completed five of ten passes in a 3-10 loss to the New York Jets.

In a Week 14 game against the Buffalo Bills that same year, Brady threw 35 times. Of course, the circumstances with the weather and playoff positioning were different.

The stakes weren't as high.

Based on this metric, one would say that Brady had much more trust than Mac Jones does. But if one compares both quarterbacks' first seasons in the NFL, it is a very different story.

Mac Jones' case

Tom Brady didn't play in his first season with Belichick. As such, it was a clear indication that Brady wasn't yet trusted to step on the field.

Meanwhile, Mac Jones is already 13 games into his NFL career. Bill Belichick cut ties with Cam Newton to give Jones more playing time.

Based on this alone, one could say that Mac Jones is much more trusted than Tom Brady was at the same point in their careers. Additionally, based on what Bill Belichick said after the Bills game in which Jones threw three times, it is clear that the weather was the leading factor behind the decision.

According to Patriots Wire, had they had to throw, they would have.

“Again, I think if it had been a different type of game and we would have needed to throw there in the fourth quarter then we would have thrown,” he said. “We were able to manage the game the way we did and that worked out all right for us.”

Who has more trust?

Mac Jones clearly earned more trust with Bill Belichick than Brady did in 2000. Brady threw three times in his rookie season.

Jones has thrown 384 times with plenty of games to play. Based on this metric alone, Jones has more trust and is on pace to throw more passes by the end of the season compared to Tom Brady.

Brady threw 413 passes in 2001. Jones has thrown 384 passes in 13 games. Jones could pass him in the Patriots' next game. Put simply, Jones has much more trust than Brady at this point in their respective careers.