Mac Jones Flops; Bill Belichick Fired? New England Patriots Lose To Indianapolis Colts in Germany

With interceptions by quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe on their final two drives, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots lost a dreadful game in Germany to the Indianapolis Colts, 10-6.

Hello, Bye. Goodbye, Bill Belichick? And/or .. Mac Jones?

On a monumental Sunday morning of different-country-same-crap, the New England Patriots' quarterback was berated and finally benched in a dismal performance that capped a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany.

Jones threw his NFL-high 10th interception to thwart a late Pats' drive inside Indy's 5-yard line, and was replaced by backup Bailey Zappe for the final possession. Needing a touchdown and at his own 14 with 1:52 remaining, Zappe produced two first downs to make things interesting. But he then faked a spike, dropped back and inexplicably threw into triple-coverage downfield with Colts' safety Rodney Thomas III ending the game with an easy interception at the Colts' 42.

"I just thought it was time for a change," Belichick grumbled about his decision to bench Jones. And as for moving forward? "We'll worry about next week, next week."

The bizarre, bumbling performance by the Pats will only add fuel the fire of speculation about Belichick's job status. Reports last week indicated that he might be fired if the team lost in Germany to fall to 2-8, and owner Robert Kraft all week talked about how important the game was. He told fans at a rally on Saturday that he felt the game was "critical."

Said Kraft, "Except for the Super Bowl, I don’t know that there are any other games that create the memories that these international games do, where people get so little of them. And it’s a great chance to make a mark and make memories.”

These memories will haunt the Patriots, and possibly end the legendary Belichick's 24-year run in Foxboro.

They were held without a touchdown for the third time this season, and their offense continues its worst production since 1992. New England had been 3-0 in international games, but this one was about an ugly as a loss can get.

The Patriots were on the verge of taking the lead late, but an awful through by Jones resulted in a killer Red-Zone interception. He had tight end Mike Gesicki running behind the defense wide open in the end zone, but woefully underthrew the pass off-balance and off his back foot. The ball fluttered harmlessly into the waiting arms of Julian Blackmon at Indy's 1 with 4:24 remaining.

Patriots' quarterback Mac Jones was constantly harassed by the Colts Sunday morning in Germany / USA Today

New England pulled within 7-6 early in the fourth quarter on Chad Ryland's 24-yard field goal. The Pats missed a golden chance for more points in the third quarte when linebacker Jahlani Tavai tipped a pass into a Myles Bryant interception. But after an ugly third-down incompletion in which Jones dangerously launched a two-hand, under-hand shovel in the flat, Ryland pushed a 35-yard field goal barely wide right.

After one third-down series, offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien was sitting on the Patriots' bench angrily laying into Jones.

Oh boy.. Bill O'Brien is TEARING into Mac Jones on the sidelines right nowpic.twitter.com/lDNVPXbbMShttps://t.co/3vN0k2ppTS

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 12, 2023

The Pats trailed 7-3 after a brutally boring first half.

They drove into Indy's Red Zone on their first drive, but settled for Ryland's 37-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead after Jones was sacked on third down. New England has only 12 points on its 10 opening drives this season, and is one of only five teams without a touchdown on its first possession.

Three of the Pats' first four drives ended in sacks off the right side, one each allowed via missed blocks by tackle Michael Onwenu, rookie guard Sidy Sow and running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Jones threw only one incompletion in the first half (10 of 11), but was sacked on five of his first 16 drop-backs. Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm (personal health issue) wasn't with the team, so assistant Billy Yates directed the unit to this week's continued dismal performance. 

Jones was sacked four times on third down in the first two quarters alone, the most since Matt Cassel was sacked four times on the key down in 2008.

The offense followed a similarly bad blueprint. In addition to Jones being constantly harassed in the pocket, he and Ezekiel Elliott bumped into each other on a hand-off and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was called for a pre-snap penalty.

Belichick and his precious special teams added to the offensive quagmire. With Indy punting from its own 13, the Pats decided to rush all 11 players in an attempt to block the kick. Unsuccessful and with no one downfield to field the punt, the ball bounced and rolled and bounced some more for a 69-yard kick. The backfired strategy cost 20 yards of field position to the NFL's second-worst offense.

Mercifully, New England has its Bye next week before playing the equally hapless 2-7 New York Giants Nov. 26.

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