Bailey Zappe "can't say" what he wants to say on play that led to game-ending interception

BOSTON -- Sunday was a bit of a mess for the Patriots' offense, but Bailey Zappe was nevertheless given an opportunity to win the game in the final minutes.

It didn't turn out too well.

With the Patriots trailing by four points and needing to go 86 yards in 112 seconds with no timeouts at their disposal and with Mac Jones benched for poor play, the odds were long. But Zappe completed two of his first three passes, setting up a first-and-10 at the New England 30-yard line.

Zappe threw incomplete on the next two plays but found Demario Douglas for 9 yards on third-and-10. After Rhamondre Stevenson barely picked up the needed yard on fourth-and-1, the Patriots hurried to the line and looked to be running a spike.

Instead, the Patriots opted for some trickery, with Zappe faking the spike before dropping back and looking up the field for an open receiver.

The Colts, though, weren't fooled. Zappe threw deep over the middle toward Douglas, but safety Rodney Thomas stepped in front of the pass and picked it off. Thomas hit the turf, and Gardner Minshew came back out for a game-ending kneeldown to seal the 10-6 win for the Colts.

After the game, Zappe was asked what he saw on that final offensive play.

"Uh yeah, I mean, I can't say what I want to say," Zappe began his answer.

Zappe then explained the thought process that went into the call, saying he shouldn't have thrown into that coverage. But the opening to his answer certainly begged a follow-up.

ESPN's Mike Reiss indicated that Zappe was zipping his lips so as not to comment on the officiating on the play.

Replay of the interception did show Douglas hitting the turf after taking some contact from linebacker Zaire Franklin, with Zappe gesturing that he wanted a penalty called on the play.

That penalty, though, wasn't called, and it doesn't necessarily look like it should have been called.

"We figured the play that we had, the fake spike, we were trying to catch the defense off guard, not get the rush going. That worked, but it was kind of me just trying to force it, trying to make a play and kind of get us ahead of the time," Zappe said. "Looking back at it, I'm probably just gonna say hey, just throw it incomplete, live for the next down, see if we can take another shot."

Zappe has now replaced Mac Jones in three games this season, completing 10 of his 25 passes (40 percent) for 104 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.