The New England Patriots could have a quarterback controversy brewing between two young quarterbacks. Bailey Zappe made his first career start in a shutout win over the Detroit Lions last week. He replaced Brian Hoyer under center the previous week when the veteran suffered a head injury against the Green Bay Packers. Hoyer took over for 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones when the latter suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 3. Get all of that? Good.
In his first career start, Zappe played stellar football en route to leading the Patriots to a 29-0 blowout of the Lions. Days after said performance, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has created somewhat of a controversy by refusing to say Jones will be the starter when he returns from injury.
When asked whether Jones is the starter once he’s ready to go, Belichick said “We’ll see whee he is today. I don’t know.” Jones is nearing a return, but he wouldn’t be 100% if the quarterback were to star Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. At least in the short term, it doesn’t make sense to throw him out there. Long-term is the more-important question here.
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Mac Jones struggled for the New England Patriots before injury
It must be noted that the former Alabama star led the NFL in interceptions with five in less than three games before he went down. That came after Jones threw 22 touchdowns against just 13 interceptions as a rookie. His regression was clear from the start of Patriots training camp and continued into the regular season.
“I’m going to figure it out. I always have. I always will. At the end of the day, you’re going to have your ups and downs with anything new, but I’ve learned a lot of different systems and the guys around me have too. We know what football looks like, we know what a good play looks like. It just needs to be more consistent.”
New England Patriots QB Mac Jones during training camp
- Mac Jones stats (2022): 66% completion, 786 yards, 2 TD, 5 INT, 76.2 QB rating
In Jones’ three starts, New England averaged under 17 points per game and struggled big time on offense. He just didn’t look anything like the quarterback we saw during his rookie campaign.
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Bailey Zappe taking full advantage, could end up being New England Patriots starter
A surprise fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky this past April, Zappe entered the NFL after a 2021 campaign that saw him break the FBS record for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62). With that said, he’s come out of nowhere to take advantage of his latest opportunity.
“I think every day I continue to get more and more comfortable. Every day getting reps, before and after practice, with my teammates during practice. Just continue to get better every day. There are a few things that I feel like I’ve improved on a little bit, but there are some things that I continue to work on. Pre-snap recognition and post-snap seeing coverage are some stuff that I’ve gotten a little better at, but there’s a lot more improvement I can make in that area.”
New England Patriots QB Bailey Zappe
In his starting debut against the Lions last week, Zappe completed 17-of-21 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown and an interception. That came after he completed 10-of-15 passes for 99 yards and a score after replacing Hoyer in Week 4.
New England currently finds itself at 2-3 heading into Week 6 against an average Browns squad. It then takes on other pedestrian teams in that of the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts ahead of a Week 10 bye. There’s a chance that Zappe will remain the Patriots’ starter through Week 6. If something isn’t broken, why try to fix it?