Could the New England Patriots suddenly have a quarterback controversy developing just two seasons after selecting Mac Jones 15th overall? Fourth-round rookie QB Bailey Zappe took a struggling Patriots offense and posted a season-high 29 points on the way to shutting out the Detroit Lions in Week 5.
Now, heading into a Week 6 battle against the Cleveland Browns, Jones is still recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 3, and his previous backup Brian Hoyer is also working to overcome a concussion. Basically, despite being the 137th overall pick, Zappe’s the starter.
Only that’s burying the lede. Zappe actually performed quite well not only in his NFL debut but also in his lone start last Sunday. Could he be ready to ‘Wally Pipp’ Mac Jones?
Starting QB gig could become Bailey Zappe’s to lose
If you’re not familiar with Wally Pipp, we don’t blame you. That’s the joke. Millions know who former New York Yankees Hall of Fame baseball legend Lou Gehrig is, but only thousands know who Pipp is.
Pipp was a very good ballplayer who helped the Yankees win a World Series in 1923 and led the American League in home runs in 1916 and 1917. He played 15 MLB seasons, but all anyone ever remembers Pipp for is the guy who got hurt, needed a day out of the lineup due to headaches, and got replaced by Gehrig. Pipp lost his job for good, and Gehrig became an all-time legend.
While we’re not quite there with Zappe and Mac Jones, the latter did have a solid rookie season, becoming the first Patriots QB to lead the franchise back to the playoffs without Tom Brady. Few saw that coming for the first-year pro out of Alabama.
Yet, despite the impressive rookie season in which he was named to the Pro Bowl as a replacement, Jones entered the 2022 year under a lot of pressure. It’s not that he was facing heat to be replaced, but thanks to the loss of longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Raiders, the Patriots no longer had that continuity from their coaching staff.
Instead, coach Belichick handed the reins to two assistants who had more success with special teams and defensive schemes than drawing up touchdown plays. But even with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, two former NFL head coaches, the offense sputtered in training camp, preseason, and early on during the regular season.
Paired with an underwhelming receiving corps, Jones wasn’t able to take the next step in his development in limited action through the first three weeks of the season. Then came Zappe, where the Patriots played their most complete game of the year.
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Zappe must ace his next test
Zappe completed 80.9% of his passes for 188 yards, a touchdown, and an interception without taking a sack in his first NFL start. It was quite the performance by the 23-year-old rookie out of Western Kentucky. In comparison, Jones has never had a game with a completion rate above 80% while also avoiding sacks across 20 NFL starts.
To be fair, Zappe took on the NFL’s worst defense in Week 5. Now instead of facing top Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Aidan Hutchinson, Zappe will be running away from a much more polished pro in Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns. If Zappe can back up his first start with another win, putting up at least 25 points on the scoreboard, why not give the rookie another shot in Week 7 against a punchless Bears team while allowing Jones to be 100% healthy?
The biggest risk might be creating too big of a controversy, but then again, based on how New England’s offense looked through the first three weeks, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Meanwhile, in classic form, coach Bill Belichick isn’t interested in discussing any possibility of a permanent QB change under center or comparing the two.
Related: Bill Belichick won’t commit to Mac Jones as New England Patriots starter over Bailey Zappe