In the second half, the New England quarterback took over. Mack Jones was at his worst for the New England Patriots in their Week 12 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany.
Jones struggled mightily in that game, throwing for just 170 yards and a bad interception on Julian Blackmon in the red zone on a drive that would cost the Patriots a 10-6 loss. Bailey replaced Zappa Jones on the bottom of New England’s rally attempt this time. After the blowout, Zappé also threw a morale interception to Rodney Thomas II, sealing the deal for the Colts.
Jones took an X-ray after the game and spoke to the media after the loss. Was there anything worse than the second half slump? That appears to be the case, according to a new report from MassLive’s Mark Daniels, with contributions from Karen Guredian and Chris Mason. Moments into the second half, Jones had no feeling in his right hand, so he made an interception and passed to Zappé. “Jones was injured when Tyquan Lewis tackled him at 7:56 of the fourth quarter,” Daniels wrote.
According to some sources, the right hand was paralyzed. … A Patriots teammate who was on the field for that drive told MassLive he knew nothing about Jones’ bite. The injury, combined with poor pass protection, led to another embarrassing interception for Jones. “But after I got back on the field, I got encouragement from the coaches and teammates,” he said.
Bill Belichick ultimately believed that Jones’ play was not conducive to potential game winning. While Jones was finally ready to return, Zappé struggled to win games, Daniels said. “At that point, Jones tried to rally the troops by hitting every player on the line of scrimmage,” Daniels added.
“So Jones was surprised when he sacked us in the last two minutes of the Patriots’ drive,” the source said. Before Zappe entered the game, Jones regained feeling in his hands and arms. With the encouragement of his coaches, Jones thought he would return to the game.After the international loss, Jones got another opportunity two weeks later against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
The Patriots quarterback struggled again with three interceptions in the first half. Jones started the rest of the season before Zappé arrived for the fourth and final time. The Patriots’ loss to the Colts was another surprise for Jones, who regressed after his rookie Pro Bowl season in 2021.With Jerod Mayo leading New England and trying to get the Patriots back on track, Jones’ NFL path remains unclear.