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The Patriots were hoping for a spark courtesy of Bailey Zappe. Instead, the list of dreadful performances from New England’s quarterbacks added another tale of woe in miserable weather conditions on Sunday. The quarterback switch that’s been a topic de jour in recent weeks saw the Patriots produce more of the same with Zappe’s final stat line in a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers resembling the numbers that led to coach Bill Belichick pivoting away from Mac Jones.
Xavier McKinney set up Randy Bullock's go-ahead 42-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter with New York's third interception of New England's woeful pair of quarterbacks, and the Giants won consecutive games for the first time this season, beating the Patriots 10-7 on Sunday. New England had a chance to win in the final minute, but coach Bill Belichick played for a tie and Chad Ryland was wide left on a 35-yard field goal attempt with 3 seconds left.
Mac Jones appeared to have put his earlier struggles behind when he moved the Patriots into Washington territory with under 2 minutes to play. On second-and-8 from the Commanders 41, Jones dropped back in the pocket and threw down the middle to JuJu Smith-Schuster. “I feel like I’ve been saying it every week,” Patriots tight end Hunter Henry said.
The Commanders quarterback was leaving the field minutes after throwing a red-zone interception to Patriots safety Kyle Dugger that negated his team’s chance to take a lead into halftime. Coach Ron Rivera noticed the agitation on Howell's face and had a quick word with him in the team's tunnel. “He’s resilient," Rivera said.
At the bottom of the AFC standings and in the throes of his worst start since his first season in New England, Bill Belichick and the Patriots could have easily been sellers at the trade deadline. “We’re getting ready for Washington,” Belichick said this week regarding his team’s lack of trade activity. The Commanders (3-5) were open for business, dealing top pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat in moves that stockpile draft picks for a rebuilding effort but do nothing to help them this season.
The Chiefs have spent $1 million in preparation and fan events for Frankfurt, Donovan said. The team is docking a Chiefs-themed yacht in the Main River for fans to board and get a selfie with the Lombardi trophy from their 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Both the Chiefs and Patriots wanted last year's first-ever regular-season game in Munich, but that went to the Bucs and Tom Brady, in part because NFC teams had the extra home game.