Patriots

Patriots bench Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe in final drive of loss to Colts

Jones threw his league-high 10th interception on the Patriots' penultimate drive, making the error in the red zone.

By Conor Roche

November 12, 2023

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The Patriots called for Zappe Hour on their final drive in Sunday’s game against the Colts in Germany.

New England benched Mac Jones in the last drive of its 10-6 loss to Indianapolis, putting Bailey Zappe in when it got the ball back with 1:52 remaining. The Patriots’ decision to pull Jones came after the quarterback threw his first interception of the game, drastically underthrowing Mike Gesicki when they had the ball at the Colts’ 15-yard line with 4:24 remaining.

When Zappe took over, the Patriots got the ball back following a Colts punt at their 14-yard line with no timeouts. Zappe and the Patriots found some success initially, moving the ball 25 yards before facing a fourth-and-1. The Patriots converted on the fourth down with Rhamondre Stevenson picking up a yard, but Zappe threw an interception on the following play as he tried to pull off a fake spike.

Sunday marks the third time that Jones has been pulled in a game this season. He was benched in the second half of the Patriots’ blowout losses to the Cowboys and Saints in Weeks 4 and 5.

Jones played a relatively clean game for much of Sunday’s matchup completing 15 of 19 passes for 170 yards with no turnovers prior to the interception. But he also took five sacks in the first half, four of which came on third down, and only led the Patriots to two scoring drives. He was also on the receiving end of an exchange with an animated Bill O’Brien during the third quarter.