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New England Patriots
The New England Patriots have a two-game winning streak for the first time in 2022 and rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe deserves a ton of credit. Now there is some debate about whether or not New England has a clear starter.
After Mac Jones suffered a severe high ankle sprain and Brian Hoyer was forced to stay on the sidelines due to a head injury, the keys to New England’s offense were handed to Zappe. Ever since Zappe took his first NFL snaps in Green Bay, he hasn’t looked back.
This season, Zappe has thrown for 596 yards, four touchdowns, and just one interception (that wasn’t even his fault as it was caused by a Nelson Agholor drop). Against the Cleveland Browns, Zappe threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns.
Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton officially declared that the Patriots have a quarterback controversy.
“Remember, we last saw Jones throw for 321 scoreless yards and three interceptions in a loss to the Ravens,” wrote Moton. “Of course, Zappe has help from a strong defense that’s forced eight turnovers over the past three games, but he’s thrown for 596 yards, four touchdowns, and just one interception in that span. Jones has thrown for 786 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions in his three contests.
“You’re going to hear pundits compare this quarterback situation to the turn of events with Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady in 2001,” Moton added. “However, unlike Bledsoe, Jones isn’t an established veteran, which creates a probable pathway for Zappe to start for the foreseeable future.”
Do the Patriots Know Who Will Start Once Jones is Healthy?
While Jones seemed to be the clear starter in New England at the start of the season, that isn’t the case anymore. Bill Belichick was asked about Jones starting once he returns from injury and Belichick wouldn’t commit to the former Alabama QB being the starter moving forward.
“We’ll see how that process is,” Belichick said. Mac still wasn’t able to play yesterday.”
What Does Belichick Think of Zappe?
After Zappe’s impressive performance in Week 6 against the Browns, Belichick continued to heap praise on the rookie.
“Yeah, I mean again, he learns everyday, whether it’s practice, or meetings, or game experiences,” Belichick said. “He has pretty good instincts, but there is a lot for him to learn. There are things today that he learned from and he was able to take advantage of and make a couple plays. He had the opportunity. Again, it’s all performance. It’s not turning the ball over or a strip sack. It’s a good thing. We just had trouble obviously with (Browns DE) Myles Garrett. We tried to double him as much as we could and he still got us.”
So now the waiting game begins. With the Patriots playing on Monday night football, Jones will have plenty of time to recover as he hopes to get his job back.
But it might be another chance for Zappe to show what he is capable of and possibly steal the starting job from his teammate.
Sam Minton covered the New England Patriots for Heavy.com from 2022 to 2023. A Massachusetts native, he has covered New England sports since 2016, with work featured at SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, FanSided and The Blazing Musket. More about Sam Minton
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