GREEN BAY, Wis. — As Brian Hoyer walked off the field Sunday, head down and carrying his team’s best hopes of an upset into the locker room, the Patriots turned to a fourth-round rookie.
Bailey Zappe, their last remaining quarterback, had no choice but to replace Hoyer and take the field against Aaron Rodgers in his NFL debut. Waves of football history and the sounds of 81,441 strong crashed upon him at Lambeau Field. As Zappe navigated his initial nerves and steered into three straight punts and a fumble, another fourth-round rookie gave him a lift.
Trailing 7-3 with less than 30 seconds before halftime, Pats cornerback Jack Jones jumped a careless Rodgers throw at the right sideline. Pick. Next, he won a 40-yard foot race to the end zone. Touchdown.
Improbably, the Pats led the NFC’s top seed for two straight seasons with two quarters left. Then, breaking from the locker room, Zappe and Co. did enough to match the Packers for two more quarters.
But overtime, against that quarterback and that team, was one task too tall.
Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby drilled a 31-yard field goal as time expired to clinch a 27-24 win on a chilly Wisconsin night. The Patriots fell to 1-3, unsure of whether Hoyer, who was ruled out with a head injury after two possessions, can play next week. Zappe went 10-of-15 for 99 yards and a touchdown in his place, though the Pats’ last three drives all resulted in three-and-outs.
Defensively, the Patriots forced the Packers into a three-and-out to start overtime and survived a game-winning touchdown at 2:02 remaining in regulation. Dropping back on third-and-8, Rodgers skied a 40-yard bomb into the outstretched arms of rookie receiver Romeo Doubs, who failed to maintain possession as he tumbled in the end zone.
The Packers punted on the next play, and the Pats killed the rest of regulation by running clock and smothering Green Bay’s attempted hook-and-lateral. They even spoiled Rodgers’ second chance at a victory, with Matt Judon and Christian Barmore teaming up to hurry him into a third-down incompletion on the opening possession of overtime.
But as the Patriots kept punting, Rodgers finally capitalized with a 12-play, 77-yard march that drained the last 6:47 of overtime and knocked them out. Rodgers went 21-of-35 for 251 yards, two touchdowns and a pick in his third head-to-head meeting with Bill Belichick.
Offensively, the Patriots leaned heavily on their power run game, as running backs Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson teamed up for 152 yards on 32 carries. Harris scored a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter. No Patriot topped 50 yards receiving.
Pats kicker Nick Folk booted a 37-yard field goal to cap the Patriots’ opening drive. Hoyer lasted just one more series, getting clobbered on third down by Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary, who strip-sacked Zappe later in the game.
Trailing 10-7 at the break, Green Bay drew first blood in the second half, marching 91 yards in 10 plays, the last a 20-yard Rodgers touchdown pass down the middle to tight end Robert Tonyan. The Pats offense answered methodically — and with a little luck.
Zappe found wide receiver Kendrick Bourne for 16 yards off a well-time play-action pass, then got sacked. But thanks to an unnecessary roughness penalty on Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark, the offense was instead vaulted to midfield. From there, Harris covered 30 yards on four straight carries, and Zappe got whistled for a delay of game penalty, backing the Pats into first-and-15.
And despite waiting two seconds longer than the play clock allowed on his next snap, Zappe got another play-action pass off. This one found DeVante Parker streaking left to right across a vacated second level of the defense for a 25-yard touchdown and 17-14 lead.
Almost five minutes later, Crosby erased the Pats' newfound lead with a game-tying field goal. Crossing into the fourth quarter, Stevenson churned out 38 yards on four consecutive carries. Zappe gave him a breather with his third play-action strike of the half, a 21-yarder to Nelson Agholor. That gain dropped the Patriots at Green Bay's 9-yard line, where Harris took care of the rest, turning two hand-offs into six points.
Back with the ball at 11:14 to play, Rodgers directed a 9-play highlighted by a pair of pinpoint third-down passes. The first, a 24-yard laser over the middle to Randall Cobb, sprung the Packers into Patriots territory. The second tied the game.
Rodgers hit Doubs on a 13-yard back-shoulder touchdown pass near the right pylon and in front of Pats cornerback Jonathan Jones. Energized by Rodgers' answer, Green Bay's defense sacked Zappe on the next series, giving the ball back to their 4-time MVP who needed two more possessions to score, but eventually won out.
Here were the best and worst Patriot performances from Sunday:
Best
CB Jack Jones: The fourth-round rookie looked like a four-time All-Pro with a pick-six, forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Run-blocking: The Pats averaged 5.1 yards per carry, partly thanks to the addition of offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, who was used as a second tight end.
Worst
OT Isaiah Wynn: The Patriots' starting right tackle allowed a sack, got whistled for holding and a false start in the team's first three drives alone. He later allowed a strip sack deep in Green Bay territory just before halftime.
Run defense: The Pats were run over for a second straight week, allowing 199 total yards at a 5.7 yards per carry clip.
