The New England Patriots were down to their last quarterback and nearly upended the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
It took extra minutes in overtime for Aaron Rodgers to lead the Packers down the field for a game-winning field goal against a Patriots team that had Bailey Zappe in at quarterback. Brian Hoyer started under center with Mac Jones out with a high ankle sprain, but then the veteran backup was knocked out of the game with a head injury.
That left Zappe in a sink-or-swim situation against Green Bay’s ferocious defensive front. He was able to swim just enough for the Patriots to keep the game close, but the team ultimately came up short in the end in a 27-24 loss.
Here are the winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Bill Belichick
The Patriots seemingly didn’t have a prayer of beating the Packers with a backup quarterback starting at Lambeau Field. After all of these years, you’d think people would have learned not to count out coach Bill Belichick, but he had to serve up another lesson on Sunday.
Defense has always been his forte, and his unit was a thorn in the side for Rodgers throughout the night. They were able to hold the future Hall of Famer to 251 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. It’s quite the feat on the road with the Patriots playing without their No. 1 corner, Jalen Mills.
While it’s easy to pile on Belichick for the current state of the team, he’s clearly still one of the best coaches in the game in big moments. It doesn’t get any bigger than going head-to-head with Rodgers in a nationally televised game.
Loser: Isaiah Wynn
The disappointing on-field play continued from Patriots offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, who was edged out of his role by veteran lineman Marcus Cannon late in the game.
It was clear that the run game improved for the team when Cannon took over the reins. Wynn gave up at least two sacks and got flagged on multiple penalties.
Isaiah Wynn gets called for a hold now but its declined. That's six penalties in the last three games. #Patriots
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) October 2, 2022
Where do the Patriots go from here with Wynn?
There were rumors circulating before the season started that he was potentially on the trade block. That could be something the team revisits down the line, but for now, it’ll be interesting to see if Cannon continues to eat into his snaps.
Winner: Jack Jones
Jack Jones probably isn’t happy with the loss, but he’ll look back on this night fondly considering he scored a pick-six on Rodgers. It isn’t every day you take an interception to the house on one of the top-10 quarterbacks to ever play the game.
Jones is proving to be feisty in coverage with legitimate playmaking abilities. That defensive touchdown served as a boost for the Patriots when it looked like they wouldn’t be able to move the ball offensively.
The team is going to need big plays like that one moving forward regardless of who is under center at quarterback.
Winner: Matthew Judon
One of the biggest reasons for the Patriots’ success against Rodgers at Lambeau Field was outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who consistently harassed the legendary quarterback in the pocket. He also had the team’s lone sack in the game.
Defense has been the lifeblood of this struggling Patriots team, and Judon is spearheading that effort up front with Deatrich Wise Jr. As long as the Patriots continue to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, they’re going to consistently be able to keep games close.
Ugly football is winning football for Judon and company.
Loser: Myles Bryant
The Patriots finally made the smart decision in trusting rookie return specialist Marcus Jones over Myles Bryant in fielding punt returns. Now, they might need to consider trusting him over Bryant at the slot cornerback position as well.
Randall Cobb, 32, was cooking Bryant late in the game on Sunday, and the Patriots never really made any adjustments at that position. It has been strange how the team has seemingly tried to force Bryant into key roles, when they’d probably be better off showcasing Jones and Shaun Wade over him.
But there’s clearly a weakness on the backend of the defense when Bryant is on the field.
Winner: Marcus Jones
What took the Patriots so long?
Marcus Jones was able to make some plays when fielding kickoffs and punt returns against the Packers. His ability for explosive plays on special teams is one of the reasons why the Patriots spent a third-round pick on him at the 2022 NFL draft.
It’s kind of shocking they’ve waited this long to unleash him. On Sunday, he averaged 24.5 yards on two punt returns and 27.8 yards when returning kicks. He’s a legitimate weapon for a Patriots team that desperately needs as many as they can get right now.
