The New England Patriots fell to another new low this season, losing to the Indianapolis Colts 10-6 in Week 10 and dropping to 2-8 on the year. Here are the four things to blame for the Patriots' loss.

The Patriots' pass protection

It's hard to get a first down on 3rd-down when you don't have time to pass the ball.

That was the case on four of the Patriots' six 3rd-down attempts in the first half. If you need that simplified, that's two-thirds or 66.7 percent – yikes! Sure, the film might show that Jones could've gotten rid of the ball sooner on some of those dropbacks, but there were at least a couple where he didn't stand much of a chance.

It wasn't really the Colts were picking on a particular side or part of the Patriots' offensive line. The pressure came from all gaps on the five sacks the Patriots allowed in the first half, which were the most they've given up in any game this season. Dayo Odeyingbo had three sacks in the first half, appearing to beat all three of the Patriots' offensive linemen (Cole Strange, David Andrews, and Sidy Sow) on separate occasions. There was another sack where the Patriots just miscommunicated and Jones was down in an instant.

Just not good stuff.

Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien

Bill O'Brien, Mac Jones, Patriots, Patriots

Ezekiel Elliott was right in his postgame comments. The Patriots should run the ball more, or at least they should've run the ball more in the first half.

The Patriots' opening drive was a success, moving the ball 61 yards to get a field goal and open with the lead. Thirty-four of those yards came on the ground, getting a good chunk of yards on almost every carry.

For some reason, O'Brien stopped dialing up run plays on first downs for the rest of the first half. The Patriots only ran once on their six 1st-down plays for the remainder of the first half. So, it's not really a shock that they went into halftime with just three points.

What made that decision even more confusing was the success they had on the ground in the second half, rushing for 167 total yards in the game.

Special teams

The unit provided two yucky plays on Sunday.

After forcing the Colts' offense to go three-and-out deep in their own territory, the Patriots decided to send just about everyone in on a punt block, for some reason. Of course, the decision didn't work out, and bit them. The Patriots watched Rigoberto Sanchez's punt bounce and roll down the field for a 69-yard punt, pinning the Patriots at their own 18-yard line as the team watched from the other side of the field. It appeared that the Patriots could've had the ball at their own 38-yard line if they just had a returner who called a fair catch. So, at least a 20-yard difference there.

The other blunder was Chad Ryland's 35-yard field goal. The rookie just shanked the kick, missing wide right on the chip shot field goal. That's obviously an execution issue, but the Patriots' decision to ditch Nick Folk for a rookie hasn't aged well this season. New England needs all the points it can possibly get, and getting rid of the guy who was nearly automatic from within 50 yards goes against that.

Mac Jones

Sigh. It's over for Jones in New England. There's no coming back from this.

And the crazy thing is, he wasn't really that bad for most of Sunday's game. Sure, he wasn't great or even good, which is part of the problem. But he wasn't the reason why the Patriots were losing for much of the game.

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Jones' inability to deliver in clutch moments was apparent again on Sunday. First, he overthrew Hunter Henry in the back of the end zone on what should've at least been a contested catch for the tight end for six. Instead, it was nearly an interception as the Patriots settled for three to make it a 7-6 game in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots found themselves in a similar spot again on their next drive, getting down to the Colts' 15-yard line. This time around, his throw to a tight end in the end zone was an underthrown and he paid for it, getting picked off as he missed an open Mike Gesicki by at least a few yards.

For many quarterbacks, that would be their worst interception of the season. I'm not sure if it cracks Jones' bottom three as he now has a league-high 10 interceptions now on the year.

So, it wasn't necessarily surprising when Jones was benched for Bailey Zappe for the Patriots' final drive. But it was a little bit stunning considering the message that it sent. The Patriots quit on Jones with the game on the line, opting to play a quarterback who was cut at the start of the season and no other team wanted as he later threw a pass into triple coverage for the game-sealing interception after a fake spike.

The Patriots don't believe in Jones anymore. And after his performance in the fourth quarter, it's hard not to blame them.