Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team will evaluate everything during the bye week after a 2-8 mark through the first 10 games. (AP photo)

The Patriots are back from Europe, but the Cold War continues.

It’s Bill Belichick, trying to keep his job and get a couple of wins to inch closer o Don Shula’s all-time record before he sets the all-time loss record. And trying to show owner Robert Kraft that the QB he wanted him to take in the 2021 NFL draft truly stinks.

It’s owner Kraft and son Jonathan, knowing that the whole season has been a disaster, trying to be respectful despite the worst football they’re witnessing for the first time since Belichick’s first season in 2000 (5-11). They’d love to pull the trigger but they won’t now and will wait until they sit down with Belichick and think of a graceful exit that could take any number of forms. The guess here is they, not Belichick, leaked the story of his multiyear deal that actually may only go through the 2024 season, just to let other teams know if they want the HC of the NEP they’ll have to pony up a draft pick. Yes, just like Kraft did when he hired Belichick away from the Jets.

Belichick’s unprecedented insertion of Bailey Zappe at quarterback for the final series Sunday with the Patriots down only one score wasn’t an act of desperation as much as it was an act of disgust and defiance. He was disgusted at the play of his QB and basically wanted Kraft to know he was done putting up with Jones.

As he should be.

The Patriots should be done with Mac Jones. He’s gone from fiery, competitive rookie to a whiney loser with an attitude. His “No clue” comment about a Hail Mary not being called (and it certainly should have been) was certainly an act of defiance. There were already whispers about how Jones’ act was wearing thin.

The guess here is Zappe will be the starter when the Patriots are at the New York Giants after the bye. We doubt they’d throw Will Grier out there, but perhaps that’s what the bye week would be for. What a choice. A player who isn’t ready, a QB you cut, and one you don’t like.

“Well, Bailey’s had some opportunities,” Belichick said Monday. “I think he’s prepared well every week. We’ve called on him in the end of a couple games, three games, I guess it was. So, I think he stepped in and did the best he could.

“Was it perfect? No. Were there some positive things? Yes. Will’s certainly improving every week in terms of understanding and working with his teammates and running the scout team and executing the plays that he has the opportunity to. There’s just not a lot of opportunities for the third position, which is where he’s been, but he’s taken advantage of the ones that he’s had.”

Now the competitor in Belichick faces a decision. Tanking isn’t in his vocabulary but when the Patriots face the Giants it will be a battle between two awful teams who want to start over with the highest draft pick possible.

Will they? The one thing Belichick will have to do is lean on his veterans to make sure the locker room doesn’t have a meltdown.

“Yeah, I think all of those guys have done a great job,” he said of his veteran leaders. “Certainly, the guys that you mentioned, and a lot of other guys, even some of the other guys, like (Matthew) Judon, who hasn’t been playing. You go right down the list there – Jon Jones, you just honestly keep going, [Joe] Cardona, there’s a lot of them. Look, everybody is working hard. I know we’ve been close. We just haven’t been able to finish enough and make the plays that we needed to make here in critical situations at the end of the game to win. Everybody’s committed to working hard to change that. We’ve out ourselves in that position multiple times here, but we just haven’t had the results that we’re looking for, and we’re going to work hard to get those results.”

Maybe, maybe not. The owner can probably see two high first round draft picks coming, one his own team’s, and the other for his coach.

RANKINGS

AFC

1.Kansas City (7-2). 2. Baltimore (7-3). 3. Jacksonville (6-3). 4.Miami (6-3). 5. Pittsburgh (6-3).

NFC

1.Philadelphia (8-1). 2.Detroit (7-2). 3. San Francisco (6-3). 4.Dallas (6-3). 5. Seattle (6-3).