It looks like the Patriots offense will be in the hands of Brian Hoyer over the next few weeks, depending on how long starter Mac Jones' high ankle sprain keeps him sidelined. (AP photo)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Yes, when you have your health in the National Football League, you have everything.

And those times are the exception rather than the rule.

You had to know the healthy shelf life of New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was tenuous at best. He already couldn’t talk after one game this season because of back issues. And the sight of him in extreme pain on Sunday told you the envelope had been pushed.

Jones is going to be missing for awhile. Next week? How about the next six weeks? That is pure speculation, but the guess here is you don’t see him until November at the earliest.

With that in mind, the Patriots will have some decisions to make. They will likely have to go out and get themselves a veteran quarterback to back up Brian Hoyer; it’s hard to believe them tossing rookie Bailey Zappe to the ravenous regular season wolves.

“He’s gotten a lot better,” Belichick said Monday about Zappe, and as for Hoyer, his only comment was “Brian’s got a lot of experience in the offense.”

Jones wouldn’t talk much about his injury on Monday, saying he’d take things “day by day” and do “my treatment” and go from there.

His robotic press conference Monday was a show about nothing when the anticipation was it would be about everything, but just the opposite of the first three games of the 2022 NFL season. The Patriots in those games have turned the ball over eight times, half of them coming in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens. That’s the total opposite of what they have been in the Bill Belichick Era, during which ball security is Job #1.

“We just have to do a better job taking care of the ball,” Belichick said on Monday. “That’s all of us. Coaches, all the players, guys that handle the ball, some of the guys that don’t handle the ball, we’ve also had turnovers on that too.

“We just have to do a better job of it. We emphasiz it a lot, but obviously we’re not getting it done so we’re all accountable for that.”

“The more consistent we can (make the right throw), the more we won’t be in that situation,” Jones said of one his interceptions, all four of which this season have been in the direction of receiver DeVante Parker.

Sunday’s game came down to a simple second half fact: The Patriots stopped scoring and the Ravens didn’t. Baltimore changed up its coverage, Jones and his receivers apparently didn’t adjust. Baltimore also had success running the football, whether it be with Lamar Jackson or not, and momentum clearly changed.

The Patriots may have a break in the fact that after they visit Green Bay, the next four opponents are Detroit (home), Cleveland (road), Chicago (home) and the Jets (road). So the iron won’t be too hot. But the last time Hoyer won an NFL game was in 2016. Those who feel it’s not much of a step back – even though Jones has struggled this season – well, you may find out otherwise. Hoyer’s problem throughout his playing career throwing the ball to the other team. Suggestions the Patriots are better off are ludicrous.

The Patriots are in a crisis mode just three weeks into the season; of course it would be worse if they were 0-3 (thank goodness for Mitch Trubisky, right?). That’s probably why, according to some reports, the team and Jones are still haggling over the treatment for his ankle, be it surgery — which might bring him back quicker — or traditional treatment, which probably means hello, November.

But one thing’s for sure.It won’t matter who the QB is if the Patriots keep giving the ball to the other team, period.

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