The New England Patriots are suffering through the type of miserable season they haven’t been through in decades. After Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, they fell to 2-8 on the season, and their hopes of making the playoffs are all but gone.

But now they have a new problem: a quarterback controversy.

Mac Jones was taken out of Sunday’s game late in the fourth quarter after he threw an interception and had been sacked five times. Bailey Zappe replaced him under center on the team’s last offensive series of the game, but with just over 30 seconds left, he also threw an interception to prevent New England from winning.

Its 10-6 loss, at least in some ways, may have been its ugliest of the season. As badly as the Colts played, it played even worse and failed to capitalize.

NFL News & Rumors: Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots Updates

This wasn’t the first time this season Jones was benched, and as a result, once again observers are wondering whether he may be benched for the foreseeable future.

When asked if he thinks he’s capable of taking over the QB1 spot, Zappe was direct in saying he is.

No one will ever accuse Zappe of being the second coming of Tom Brady or even Drew Bledsoe. But with the Patriots floundering like they haven’t in a very long time, perhaps they will have nothing to lose by trying out Zappe as their new starter.

In three games this season, he has completed only 40.0 percent of his passes and has thrown zero touchdown passes and one interception.

At this point, the Patriots may be best served by losing as many games as possible and getting to draft Caleb Williams, the outstanding quarterback at the University of Southern California. Perhaps it is the type of thing that could keep head coach Bill Belichick in town for just a bit longer.

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