The New England Patriots’ offense is a full-blown dumpster fire. Didn’t think it could get worse from last year with Matt Patricia calling the shots? Think again! The Pats had their chances to improve to 3-7 in Germany against the Colts, but Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe committed self-sabotage the likes of which you could nary believe.
Michael McCorckle kicked things off with a red-zone pick that will leave you wondering how an actual NFL quarterback could actually think it’d be OK to throw such a weak-sauced lollipop ball into the shrinking windows of the red zone.
Julian Blackmon intercepts Mac Jones at the goal line!
📺: #INDvsNE on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/d4RDZpceuE pic.twitter.com/K0AHBzjFwM— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
That got Mac sent to the bench. Enter: Bailey Zappe.
You’d think as a backup, given this kind of opportunity to execute a game-winning drive, you’d want to stick to Bill O’Brien’s call sheet. Not go YOLO rogue, fake spike the ball, and somehow throw an even worse INT than the one Mac just put on tape.
FAKE SPIKE INTERCEPTION. #INDvsNE pic.twitter.com/wvW6l2ItDg
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
When was the last time you saw somebody throw into not double… not triple… quadruple coverage at the NFL level? Has it ever happened? I don’t know if I’ve seen this in all my years on the planet. Across many thousands of hours covering sports professionally. Beyond idiotic. There are no words to do this Zappe masterpiece justice.
Now please, platform known as X, inject some reaction content into my veins and send me on my way. Because the written word alone cannot underscore the levels of disaster we’ve born witness to on this way-too-early-in-the-U.S. kickoff to begin Week 10 NFL Sunday in the year 2023.
Do you know how bad a pass has to be for it to be Mac Jones' worst pass?
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) November 12, 2023
When you fade Mac Jones every week pic.twitter.com/TYO6dW1grr
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) November 12, 2023
Belichick benching Mac Jones for Bailey Zappe pic.twitter.com/dcOWHfJ4MB
— #RingerNFL (@ringernfl) November 12, 2023
Bailey Zappe off the bench in a 2 minute drill in Germany with a fake spike horrible pick to end it… this is how the Belichick Era should probably end.
But it was a phenomenal run!!!!
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 12, 2023
this is how it ends: with my family bursting out in uproarious laughter after Bailey Zappe throws a pick in Germany
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) November 12, 2023
What Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe will be doing soon: pic.twitter.com/jBEwAo0eh3
— theScore Bet (@theScoreBet) November 12, 2023
Bill Belichick to Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe as soon as they get in the locker room pic.twitter.com/8ekluWBi6W
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) November 12, 2023
Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe with the game on the line for the Patriots. pic.twitter.com/wVZaN1b2k7
— Thomas Carrieri (@Thomas_Carrieri) November 12, 2023
"A Bailey Zappe fake-spike leads to a game-sealing interception. Words that I didn't wake up this morning here in Germany think that I'd be saying."- Rich Eisen
"I'm in disbelief of just the sequence… [Bill Belichick's] look right there sums up their season…"- Jason McCourty pic.twitter.com/IiKNzsexm9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 12, 2023
Patriots owner Robert Kraft was already hinting at the end of the Bill Belichick era in New England prior to the game. Don’t think this closing sequence is going to help Belichick’s cause very much.
Bill Belichick's reaction to Bailey Zappe's INT pic.twitter.com/34fCP391pf
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) November 12, 2023
The only silver lining for New England fans? Jones and Zappe tanking this game got the Pats one step closer to acquiring their new franchise QB early in the 2024 NFL Draft.
