It’s gone from bad to worse for the Patriots this season. Expectations were riding high at the beginning of the year, with a new offensive coordinator and a revamped offense. Many people projected the Patriots to earn 7-11 wins and have a chance at a division title. Patriots owner Robert Kraft reiterated his desire to win a playoff game this year, but with the Patriots falling to 2-8, we can officially call this a loss season for all parties involved – Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, Mac Jones, and the fans.
Before we zoom out to consider the big picture, let’s do a deep dive into what went wrong in Frankfurt.
Here are six takeaways from the Patriot’s first international game in Germany.
Mac Jones is not the franchise quarterback.
It was another poor effort from Mac Jones and yet another game the Patriots had every opportunity to win but fell short. After Jones made a bad decision and took a sack on third down, Bill O’Brien showed his emotion and used choice words, talking with Jones. Later in the game, Jones had Gesicki open for a touchdown but missed badly, leading to another interception.
“It was a terrible throw,” Jones said. “Practiced it, hit it in practice, snugged the throw, and I knew where to go. I just didn’t do it. Didn’t do it right.”
At the end of the day, Jones completed 15 of 20 pass attempts, tallying 170 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception. Jones is now in first place for the most interceptions in the NFL.
The Patriot’s quarterback has lost four fumbles through 10 weeks, along with his ten interceptions. Belichick preaches ball security is job security, and it’s becoming a routine that Mac turns the ball over.
How much more time until a franchise-altering decision is made?
Zappe can’t lead this team any better than Mac can
It all started in the preseason, when Zappe trotted out on the field against the Texans, it looked seemed like he regressed. The worries were true. Through nine weeks of the season, the Patriots backup looked nothing like he did in 2022 when he won both his starts and recorded a 105+ passer rating in both his appearances. Under duress, he can’t complete the simple passes. Yet again, when Mac was benched, Zappe had a chance to win the game late for the Patriots, but it ended in a brutal interception. The sophomore quarterback tried to trick the Colts with a fake spike but failed…miserably.
“They called a fake spike. We wanted to try to catch the defense off guard,” Zappe said. “We wanted to try to get the ball downfield to try to catch up timewise. I tried to force it in there. Looking back now, I should have thrown it away.”
The Colts’ linebacker was also confused with the play call.
“First of all, it was a false start, but it wasn’t a good fake. Then, if you spike the ball, you’re not going to look at a receiver after that. You probably are just going to walk off.”
Defense is growing more and more frustrated
It was one of the more impressive defensive shows from the Patriots in Frankfurt. Although the Patriots weren’t going against a strong offsense, the Patriots held Jonathan Taylor in check after a rough first quarter (23 carries, 69 yards). The defense was without veteran Ja’Whaun Bentley, and linebacker Mack Wilson left early due to a head injury. An injury-ravaged defense still held the opposing offense to ten points, which should be enough in today’s NFL. Nevertheless, the Patriots offense only mustered six points and is last in the NFL in points per game. Jabrill Peppers spoke to reporters about the frustration he’s feeling.
“It’s a little frustrating,” Peppers said of giving up 10 points and still losing. “But we had our chances to keep them backed up, and Gardner Minshew made some great throws on the run… we held them to 10, but we had our chances to really put our foot on their throats, and we definitely didn’t do it.”
Kraft makes a rare media appearance
In an rare media appearance for Robert Kraft, he talked with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen to share his thoughts on the Patriot’s struggles this season. Before the year started, Kraft told the media he wanted to get back to the playoffs and, more importantly, win a postseason game. The Patriots aren’t making it back to the playoffs in 2023, and it marks the second straight year they missed out on the postseason.
“This is our thirtieth year that I’ve had the privilege of owning this team, and I’ve never been 2-7,” Kraft said.” So it’s disappointing, and I hoped that things would be a lot better, as I know our fan base did. And I hope today is a chance to reset and make this a much better year. This isn’t what we were expecting to happen this year.”
The Patriots are on track for their worst season.
Special team woes continue
Another week of a poor performance for the Patriots special teams unit. Chad Ryland missed a crucial 35-yard field goal, and Bryce Baringer had two touchbacks. However, Baringer launched both his punts more than his 60+ yards. Additionally, the kick return unit didn’t have a great day, allowing Isaiah Mckenzie a couple of big returns. It’s not the sole reason they lost, but something will have to change in the foreseeable future to change the direction of the Patriots special teams unit.
Looking ahead
The Patriots head into their bye week with only two wins through the season’s first nine weeks. All the expectations have been utterly diminished, and New England is in a worse spot than they were in 2020 when Cam Newton was at quarterback. After the bye, the Patriots will visit East Rutherford and play the New York Giants. The game will have significant implications for the Patriots draft position.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
