Tension is starting to boil over as the Patriots’ season reaches its nadir.
Mac Jones was benched with the game on the line Sunday against the Colts in Frankfurt, Germany, with the Patriots turning to Bailey Zappe with 1:52 left and New England down by four points.
Zappe could not engineer a miracle drive, instead throwing a game-ending interception with 31 seconds left after a fake spike as the Patriots fell to 2-8 with a 10-6 loss.
Jones went 15-for-20 with 170 yards and an interception, while Zappe was 3-for-7 with 25 yards on the final drive.
There was no wonder why Jones got yanked late in the game.
After an ill-advised flip attempt in the third quarter nearly resulted in a turnover during their game against the Colts in Germany, NFL Network showed Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien screaming at Jones on the bench.
Jones was trying to avoid a sack on third-and-2 at the Indianapolis 17-yard line, and before being taken down, he flung the ball toward running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who couldn’t haul in the ball, which fell right before it could be intercepted.
While the Patriots avoided a costly turnover, kicker Chad Ryland missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt to keep the Colts’ lead at 7-3 midway through the third quarter.
Jones finally did throw an interception with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter while the Patriots were in scoring position.
On second-and-12 from the Colts’ 15-yard line, Jones threw an awful pass that was intercepted by Indianapolis’ Julian Blackmon.
That came after Jones nearly threw another interception early in the fourth quarter on third-and-goal from the 6-yard line, after which the broadcast showed Patriots owner Robert Kraft dropping his head in disappointment.
It’s been a rough year for Jones and the Patriots, who were 2-7 entering Sunday’s game in Frankfurt with rumors swirling about Bill Belichick’s future.
Jones, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 draft who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, began the day leading the NFL with nine interceptions, along with 1,861 yards passing and 10 touchdowns.
New England entered Sunday with the sixth-fewest yards per game in the league (289.4) and the second-fewest points per game (15) in the NFL.
Only the Giants offense has averaged fewer points at 11.2 per game.
The Patriots have a bye next week before visiting the Giants on Nov. 26.
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