The New England Patriots dropped to 2-8 as they were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts 10-6 on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany at Deutsche Bank Park.

New England found themselves in scoring position late in the 4^th quarter, but Mac Jones underthrew Mike Gesicki on a pass that should have resulted in a touchdown. Instead, the pass resulted in a Julian Blackmon interception to stop the Patriots near the endzone.

The Patriots defense then forced the Colts to punt, which gave New England one last chance to win the game late.

As the Patriots offense trotted on the field, Jones stayed on the sideline as Bailey Zappe would try to lead a game winning drive. After converting on 3^rd down twice, Zappe faked a spike and threw into triple coverage resulting in an interception.

Indianapolis then kneeled the game to seal their 5^th win of the season. With this win, the Colts continue their push for playoffs, as they are currently one win behind Jacksonville Jaguars in leading the AFC South.

The Colts were led by their destructive defensive front DeForest Buckner, Kwity Paye, and Dayo Odeyingbo. Indianapolis defensive line combined for five sacks, six tackles for loss, and nine QB hits.

Jonathan Taylor and Gardener Minshew were impactful for the Colts offense in this win over New England. Taylor rushed for 69 yards on 23 carries and scored the sole TD of the game. Meanwhile, Minshew threw for 194 yards on 18/28 passing.

What Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong

The New England offense continues to struggle as they failed to get in the endzone for the 3^rd time this season. The Patriots reached the redzone four times but could not score a TD on any of their attempts.

On the Patriots’ last redzone trip, Mac Jones threw his 10^th interception of the season on a pass that saw Mike Gesicki open in the endzone. Jones was then benched for the 3^rd time this season after the turnover.

“I thought it was time for a change,” said Bill Belichick.

In this week’s game, Jones threw for 170 yards on 15/20 passing and an interception. He is currently leading the league with 10 interceptions through the first 10 weeks.

“It was a terrible throw,” said Mac Jones. “Practiced it. Hit it in Practice. Just not a good throw”.

New England’s offense line also had problems containing the Colts’ pass rush. The Patriots offensive line allowed five sacks, the most this season.

“Everybody got to do a better job. We all got to do a better job,” said David Andrews. “We had opportunities. We just have to do a better job finishing.

Though the Patriots’ offense had many issues, there were highlights to New England’s struggling offense. The rushing game was hitting on all cylinders for New England this week versus the Colts. Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott combined for 142 yards on 33 carries.

Demario Douglas continues to showcase his ability to make plays after the catch, as he recorded 6 catches for 84 yards this week. The rookie out of Liberty has 37 receptions for 277 yards on the season.

Defense Steps Up

After two weeks of uncharacteristic performances, the New England defense returned to form. The Patriots’ defense struggled on late down plays last week, but showed improvement against the Colts by holding Indianapolis to 5/13 on 3^rd down conversions.

Coming into this game, the Colts were 7^th in points per game with 25.1 and haven’t scored less than 20 all season. However, the Patriots defense neutralized the Colts’ offense by holding them to 10 points scored and allowing them to reach the endzone once.

Indianapolis could only gather 264 total yards against the Patriots and turned the ball over once.

Jahlani Tavai was crucial for the Patriots’ defense with Ja’Whaun Bentley out of action. He completed seven tackles with a pass deflection that resulted in an interception.

Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger also contributed to the defensive effort. Peppers had five tackles with one tackle for loss, while Dugger compiled three solo tackles.

Up Next

New England would look to solve some of their issues as they go into their bye week. Meanwhile, the Colts go into their bye week in high spirits with a hard-fought victory.