Robert Kraft calls the Patriots’ struggles ‘really disappointing’

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The New England Patriots’ six Super Bowl triumphs over two decades of dominance with Bill Belichick as their coach and Tom Brady as their quarterback are fading into memory, and their struggles this season have created uncertainty around Belichick’s future in New England. For the first time, team owner Robert Kraft publicly acknowledged his disappointment over this season’s on-field issues Sunday.

Kraft did not directly address Belichick’s status during an interview with the league-owned NFL Network before the Patriots’ game in Germany against the Indianapolis Colts. But he said that the team’s performance has not met his expectations for this season. The Patriots lost the game, 10-6, to drop their record to 2-8.

“This is our 30th year that I’ve had the privilege of owning this team, and I’ve never been 2-7,” Kraft said beforehand. “So it’s really disappointing. And I had hoped that things would be a lot better, as I know our fan base did. And I hope today is a chance to reset and make this a much better year. This isn’t what we were expecting to happen this year.”

Kraft said he “very much” wanted to win the game against the Colts, adding that he’d spoken to the team following a practice this week in Germany.

“I had fans come up on the street to me who had watched [Patriots special teams standout] Matthew Slater’s dad Jackie play here 33 years ago,” Kraft said. “And they remember plays he had made. So I used that as an example to speak to the team after practice, to say except for the Super Bowl, I don’t know that there are any other games that create the memories that these international games do, where people get so little of them. And it’s a great chance to make a mark and great memories.”

It is a rarity, Kraft said, for him to address Patriots players in a group setting.

“This is the only time I did it this year,” Kraft said. “The only other time is Thanksgiving, where all of us who are privileged to own NFL teams and have healthy families have a lot to be thankful for.”

Nothing happened during the game to improve Kraft’s mood. The Patriots did not reach the end zone. They scored only on two field goals by rookie kicker Chad Ryland, who also missed a 35-yard field goal attempt. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was shown on the broadcast having a sharp sideline exchange with quarterback Mac Jones at one point.

Jones threw an interception, on a pass directly to a Colts defender, on a second-down play from the Indianapolis 15-yard line with just more than four minutes remaining. That prompted Belichick to turn to backup Bailey Zappe when the Patriots got the ball back at their 14-yard line with 1:52 to play.

It was not immediately clear if an injury issue played a part in the benching. Jones reportedly was taken for X-rays following the game. Belichick said during his postgame news conference that he thought it was time for a change. He declined to specify whether Jones remains the starter.

The Patriots got two first downs to move the ball to their 40-yard line. But after a fourth-down run for a first down, Zappe faked a clock-stopping spike of the ball, then threw an interception to seal the outcome.

Earlier during the game, Kraft was shown on the broadcast dropping his head in dismay while watching from his suite.

Before Sunday, Kraft had been quiet publicly about the team’s downward-spiraling on-field fortunes this season. He had said in the offseason that it was “very important” to him that the team reach the playoffs this season. Instead, the Patriots have come undone. They’ve lost six of their past seven games. The years since Brady’s departure have been increasingly un-Patriot-like.

The Patriots have a record of 27-33 in regular season play since Brady left the franchise following the 2019 season. They have reached the playoffs only once over that span and don’t have a postseason victory.

Brady won another Super Bowl in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He reached the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the Buccaneers before announcing his retirement in February.

Belichick holds authority over the Patriots’ draft and free agency plans, and they lack top-tier talent on their roster and are without a proven franchise quarterback. They used a first-round draft choice in 2021 on Jones. Jones reached the playoffs in his rookie season but has failed to progress since amid instability on the offensive coaching staff.

At least before Sunday’s calamitous finish to the game, few within the league seemed to expect Belichick’s situation to be resolved until far closer to the end of the season. Some within the sport have suspected the Patriots might seek to receive draft-choice compensation from another NFL team in a trade for Belichick, who is believed to be under contract beyond this season, if he is not going to remain in New England.

Belichick remained 16 victories behind Don Shula for the most by a coach in NFL history, including postseason wins.