Bailey Zappe Says He Can't Share His Real Thoughts On Embarrassing Late-Game INT

Bailey Zappe, backup QB and possible Week 12 starter for the Patriots, wasn't happy with the game's final and strange sequence Sunday to seal the loss for New England.

Inserted at a moment of crisis after Mac Jones threw a fourth-quarter interception, Zappe commanded the offense with less than two minutes left in the game and a four-point deficit against the Indianapolis Colts.

Zappe pushed the Patriots' comeback efforts from their own 40-yard line before a scramble fake spike resulted in the backup QB tossing a game-sealing turnover.

The Patriots are stuck in tough times.

After the game, Zappe groaned at the sequence. While there's plenty wrong with that last play — looking at you, Bill O'Brien — Zappe appeared to think that the refs should've flagged the Colts' secondary for defensive pass interference.

Bill Belichick benches Mac Jones, pivots to Bailey Zappe. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Patriots drop tough loss in Germany against below-average Colts (5-5). (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Zappe wanted to sound off on the officiating (or the play-calling?) but held back and told the media he was holding back on his blunt thoughts.

WATCH:

"I can’t say what I want to say," Zappe shared after the 10-6 bore of a loss. "We were kinda behind on time, the way we talked about yards. We talk about 1 yard for every second. So, we were trying to get ahead of the time by taking a shot."

Like the play or not, Zappe may see time at the starting QB role after the Patriots' Week 11 bye week. Speaking on the decision to bench Mac Jones after the late-game pick, coach Bill Belichick commented: "It was time for a change."

Mac Jones went 15 of 20 for 170 yards and an interception. In his brief appearance, Zappe went 3 of 5 for 25 yards, plus the interception.

As of current projections, the New England Patriots hold the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Facing a 2-8 record ahead of their break, the Patriots must learn to rebound from this all-time-low year playing for the great Bill Belichick.

As OutKick Senior NFL Reporter Armando Salguero shared after the game, people around the Patriots' leadership see a Belichick midseason firing as more of an overreaction than the logical path for Robert Kraft.

Until the offseason, the Patriots must solve their Mac Jones problem.

(Will Mac Jones start another game for the Patriots this season? Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com)