Patriots' Mac Jones Slammed by NFL Fans, Benched for Bailey Zappe in Loss to Colts

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones drew the ire of both fans and offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien in a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday morning.

Jones went 15-of-20 for 170 yards with no touchdowns, and after throwing a red-zone interception late in the fourth quarter while the Pats were driving to take the lead, he was benched for backup Bailey Zappe.

Zappe took the reins after the two-minute warning with no timeouts and the Patriots trailing 10-6, but he threw a game-ending interception.

Jones struggled to move the offense for much of the game, as he took five sacks and had to lean heavily on Rhamondre Steveson, Ezekiel Elliott and the running game.

At one point O'Brien appeared to be screaming at Jones while they were looking at video of one of the Pats' drives on the sidelines:

Although it was mostly a middling performance from Jones for the first three quarters, he missed a wide-open Mike Gesicki for what would have been the go-ahead score with just over four minutes remaining, and was intercepted by Colts defensive back Justin Blackmon:

That, coupled with Jones' poor play otherwise, led to criticism from many on social media, including legendary former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman:

The Patriots rushed for an impressive 167 yards as a team and their defense was largely excellent, holding an explosive Colts offense to just 264 total yards.

Because of that, Jones was the scapegoat for New England's loss, and it is difficult to argue with the notion that he was largely to blame.

Jones now leads the NFL in interceptions with 10, and his pick on Sunday was arguably the worst he has ever thrown due to how open Gesicki was and the fact that it occurred during a pivotal moment.

Now, the Patriots are just 2-8 on the year, and they are trending toward their worst record since 2000 when they went 5-11 in Bill Belichick's first season as head coach.

New England has a bye next week, and Belichick figures to use the time off to decide whether to start Jones or Zappe in Week 12 against the New York Giants.

At this point, it would perhaps behoove the Patriots to lose with regularity down the stretch in order to improve their chances to landing a top quarterback like USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye in the 2024 NFL draft.

As for the Colts, they continue to defy expectations with a 5-5 record, keeping them in the AFC playoff hunt.