The New England Patriots improved to 3-3 with a 38-15 victory over the Cleveland Browns with rookie Bailey Zappe leading the way for the second straight week.
Zappe had the best game of his early career throwing 24-of-34 for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Many expect starter Mac Jones to return next week against the 2-4 Chicago Bears and second-year QB Justin Fields on Monday Night Football. With Jones possibly ready to return next week and Zappe showing command leading the Patriots to two straight wins, there could be room for speculation if the Patriots want to ride the hot hand, especially considering how Jones struggled early in the 2022 season.
However, I believe this is Jones’ team, and the reason for the early struggles was new play-callers and a new offensive line scheme that was going through some growing pains.
Jones should return just as this offense is clicking and will be ready to take this team on a run as the Patriots find themselves with some favorable matchups over the next month. Zappe was incredible and proved to be a great selection for what his role is; an emergency backup/spot starting quarterback for when the franchise QB is forced to miss time.
Zappe Hour shines again
Bailey Zappe played fantastic, having a career-game playing turnover-free football, besides the one strip sack from Myles Garrett that caused Isaiah Wynn to be benched. Zappe showed true poise and looked like a borderline NFL starter with top backup potential.
What more could the Patriots ask from the rookie than this performance? Not much.
When the Patriots selected Zappe in the fourth-round of the 2022 NFL draft, the hope and plan was him becoming a long-term backup, or eventually becoming the starter if Jones wasn’t the guy. The team wanted insurance, and sometimes good insurance at QB can be an excellent trade chip.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Jones went down to injury earlier than they had hoped, forcing a rookie QB to step in. But Zappe has something that you just can’t plot on a graph. He has “IT.”
I personally believe Jones is a much better quarterback, but having a really good No. 2 is not always a bad thing. In fact, it has won you two games already and almost a third in Green Bay. Jones, to me, has “IT,” too, but it’s nice to know Zappe is a capable, long-term backup that could develop into more, or become a nice trade chip to a QB-desperate team in the future.
It's Tyquan's Time to Shine
Tyquan Thornton made his NFL season debut last week, and after reviewing the film, he was consistently beating coverage against the Lions. At first I thought, “Eh, it’s just the Lions, their secondary isn’t that great.” It wasn’t until Sunday’s game that I started to change my mind when seeing him matched up against a much better pass defense than many give credit for.
Thornton scored twice with one coming on a jet sweep, and in limited runs, averaged 5.3 YPC, more than Rhamondre Stevenson in this game.
Two touchdown Tyquan.@Humble_Ty19 | #ForeverNE
📺: #NEvsCLE on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/PYiThMbgW4
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 16, 2022
Nelson Agholor was banged up, and that made room for the second-round draft pick to play this week. But the Patriots traded up in the second round for him for a reason. They clearly saw a need for him, and again, stuck to their new philosophy of actually drafting talented players rather than the good football players or uber specific role players like they have in the past.
The Patriots should be featuring Thornton much more than Agholor, and in fact, I think Agholor has cost more games than he has won so far this season. So I wouldn’t mind Agholor falling into the “doghouse” that once kept Kendrick Bourne, who has seemingly been released over the last few weeks. Thornton, Bourne, Meyers and Parker should be the rotation from here on out.
Tight Ends showing a sign of life
Finally, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith are showing life and are looking like they deserve a sliver of their massive contracts. Henry has the benefit of the doubt after last season, but things were not looking good for Smith. The pair added 122 passing yards and a touchdown between the both, a welcoming sign for when Jones is back.
.@Hunter_Henry84 WIDE OPEN.
📺: #NEvsCLE on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/9YesrwP1HC
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 16, 2022
I have said this for quite some time, if the Patriots can get consistently good play from their weapons and tight ends, they could easily be one of the league’s top offenses. Smith, Henry, Meyers, Parker, Bourne, Thornton, Stevenson and Harris all possess unique skills that can create matchup nightmares when used properly. Jones is highly-skilled at reading the defense and getting the ball to playmakers. So if this is a sign for things to open up, I am here for it.
Regardless of my pipe dream, it is nice to finally mention Henry and Smith as having a good game for the Patriots in 2022, as we have yet to see it through five weeks. Hopefully, the pair can continue this trend upwards and become consistent enough weapons for defenses to respect.
