In the second Frankfurt game in NFL history, the New England Patriots’ crisis continued. Quarterback Mac Jones received the maximum penalty in the final phase.

The New England Patriots’ crisis continued in the second Frankfurt game in NFL history. The Pats lost 6:10 (3:7) against the Indianapolis Colts in a game that was uneventful for a long time. With a record of 2-8, New England remains at the bottom of the AFC and the pressure on legendary coach Bill Belichick is likely to increase further.

The Colts, on the other hand, now have an even record of five wins and five losses and have maintained their small outside chance of making the postseason.

For the Patriots, quarterback Mac Jones was benched for the final drive of the game after he had made a bitter interception. Bailey Zappe took over, but was unable to turn the deficit around and instead ended the game for good with another interception.

“The coaching staff just told me I was out. I didn’t play well,” Jones said after the game at the press conference about his substitution: “It’s a tough decision, but at the end of the day I want my team to win. But I know I have to play better”.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick also commented on the substitution of Mac Jones after the game: “I was convinced it was time for a change. I made the decision, that’s all there is to it.” Belichick did not want to reveal whether the bench is now permanently earmarked for Mac Jones: “We’ll take care of that next week.”

Both the Patriots and the Colts go into their bye week after the Germany game. After that, New England has to play the New York Giants, while the Colts host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In front of 50,000 spectators at Deutsche Bank Park, the Patriots got the ball first and marched down the field with running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott leading the way. The offense failed to score a touchdown, however, and kicker Chad Ryland converted a 37-yard field goal to take the lead.

The Colts did better on their first drive. A 30-yard pass from quarterback Gardner Minshew to Isaiah McKenzie brought Indianapolis into the Patriots’ half, then running back Jonathan Taylor stepped up to the plate. The former All-Pro got the ball several times and finally ended the drive on his fourth attempt with the first touchdown of the game.

NFL in Frankfurt: An uneventful second quarter

At this point, the first quarter was almost over due to the many running plays. However, the game did not continue at a similar pace, with neither offense producing even one functioning drive in the following minutes.

It was only towards the end of the first half that the Colts turned up the heat. After an initially respectable drive that ended without points, Minshew led his offense down the field once again in the final attack.

Kicker Matt Gay had the chance to make a field goal, but his attempt from 57 yards was too short

Second half starts with an interception

The second half started with the first big play by a defense. A deflected pass from Minshew landed in the arms of Patriots defender Myles Bryant, who caught the first interception of the game

However, New England was unable to use this big moment in its favor. Although Mac Jones managed a decent drive to the Colts’ 17-yard line, kicker Ryland missed what should have been a sure field goal from 37 yards.

Capital mistake by Jones leads to preliminary decision

The Patriots were now much better in the game, however, and a short time later the offense marched almost the entire field. However, they again failed to score a touchdown, but this time Ryland was able to cut the deficit to 6:7 with a field goal. The Colts countered immediately and restored the gap with a field goal.

Mac Jones then made a major blunder. After what was actually a strong drive, the Patriots were already in the Colts’ end zone. But Jones threw a pass straight into the arms of defender Julian Blackmon.

After the Colts failed to run out the clock, the Patriots got the ball back with just under two minutes on the clock. However, it was not Jones who led the drive, but backup quarterback Zappe.

However, he was unable to turn the game around and instead threw an interception himself after a faked spike.