In a game against the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots made a surprising decision to bench their starting quarterback, Mac Jones, with just two minutes left on the clock.
This move came after Jones threw an interception that could have potentially given them the lead. Coach Bill Belichick decided to replace Jones with backup quarterback Bailey Zappe for the final drive of the game.
Although Jones remained positive and supportive, the decision ultimately did not lead to a victory for the Patriots.
Despite the interception, Mac Jones had a solid performance throughout the game, completing 15 out of 20 passes for 170 yards.
However, he missed several opportunities for potential touchdown passes and faced constant pressure from the Colts" pass rush.
The decision to bench Jones came with the Patriots needing a touchdown to overcome a four-point deficit.
Once Bailey Zappe was brought in, the Patriots made some progress but ultimately fell short. Zappe attempted a play where he faked a spike and aimed for a pass over the middle.
"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
Unfortunately, there were multiple Colts defenders present, resulting in an easy interception that sealed the victory for Indianapolis.
The Patriots ended up losing the game with a final score of 10-6.
This was not the first time that Mac Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe this season. In previous blowout losses against the Cowboys and Saints, Belichick explained that the decision was made to prevent Jones from getting injured.
However, in this game against the Colts, it was clear that the benching was not due to injury concerns.
Patriots HC Bill Belichick on benching Mac Jones:
"No sense in leaving him in the game."
Said he wasn't benched for poor performance.
Says Mac Jones will be the starter moving forward.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 2, 2023
The specifics behind this move remain unknown, leaving fans and analysts speculating about the coach"s motivations.
