A week after getting the Chiefs and Dolphins in a matchup of the AFC’s best, the good people of Frankfurt, Germany were reminded what the bottom half of the NFL looks like when the Colts and Patriots showed up to play the latest NFL overseas game.
It was a quarterback showdown of Gardner Minshew and Mac Jones, and as expected, it was rather hideous. The Colts led 10-6 late in the fourth quarter, as they had the lone touchdown of the game, when the Pats offense finally came to life a bit as the running game got going and Jones hit a couple of pass plays to move the Patriots into the red zone. After a run play got stuffed on first down, the Pats faced a 2nd and 12 from the 15 and Mike Gesicki got a great release off the line and was behind the defense going into the end zone.
All Mac Jones need to do was put some air under it and throw it over the top. Unfortunately for New England, Mac Jones is not good at playing quarterback and instead underthrew it horrifically, right into the arms of Julian Blackmon who was almost shocked to see the ball coming towards him.
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
It’s legitimately one of the worst interceptions of the season given time, situation, and the fact that Jones wasn’t hit and the ball wasn’t tipped and still came up this short. The throw was bad enough that Jones was benched for the final drive of the game, as Bailey Zappe was sent out on the field to try and lead a game-winning drive in the two-minute drill.
That worked for a bit, but then Zappe went with a fake spike at midfield and threw his own dreadful interception to end the game.
FAKE SPIKE INTERCEPTION. #INDvsNE pic.twitter.com/wvW6l2ItDg
— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
I’m starting to think the Patriots might need new quarterbacks.