Another week, another quarterback injury for the New England Patriots. Bailey Zappe comes on in relief after Brian Hoyer suffered a head injury in the first quarter and plays better than expected. The Patriots pushed the Packers to the limit as Green Bay won on a field goal as time expired at the end of overtime. New England falls to 1-3 while Green Bay improves to 3-1.
NOT BAD BAILEY
When Zappe was called on near the end of the first quarter, no one knew what to expect from the third string, rookie QB. The last time he saw action in a meaningful game, he was throwing six touchdowns for Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton Bowl. Today, he was serviceable and that was enough to keep New England competitive with the Packers. Zappe completed ten passes for 99 yards and one touchdown. He didn’t light the world on fire, but he didn’t lose them the game either which was very important. Zappe even finished with fewer interceptions in this game than Aaron Rodgers, so he’s got that going for him. It will be interesting to see what happens going forward and if New England will need Zappe to start next week against Detroit.
PATRIOTS RUNNING AND DEFENSE
I said in my preview piece on Saturday, the only way for New England to stay close would be running and defense, and that’s exactly how they did it. New England ran the ball 33 times for 167 yards and Damien Harris scored a touchdown. Meanwhile the defense held Green Bay to 443 total yards in the game as they prevented Aaron Rodgers or the Packers running backs from taking over the game too much. It wasn’t the best performance by a defense, but it was enough to get the job done and keep the score close. The Patriots’ mantra is “Do Your Job,” and the running backs and defense certainly did their jobs Sunday.
PATRIOTS INJURY BUG
The Patriots entered the game very banged up and by the time it was over, they were even more banged up. On top of losing Hoyer for the game in the first quarter, New England also lost tight end Jonnu Smith to an ankle injury in the second quarter. Those injuries only compounded the issues the team was facing without starting quarterback Mac Jones and number one wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. The Meyers injury had an added layer of intrigue once Hoyer left the game, because Meyers is the emergency fourth string QB. What would’ve happened had Zappe been hurt and Meyers wasn’t there to relieve him? We still don’t know, and I bet Bill Belichick is glad it’s a question he didn’t have to answer during the game.
MILESTONE FOR AARON RODGERS
Aaron Rodgers joined an illustrious list when he threw his 500th career passing touchdown in Sunday’s game. He becomes only the fifth QB all time to throw 500 TDs. He only trails Tom Brady (713), Drew Brees (608), Peyton Manning (579) and Brett Favre (552) on the all time list. Congratulations to Rodgers.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR PATRIOTS?
The Patriots return home to Foxboro to host the Lions in only their second home game of the season. Detroit is coming off another loss; this time to Seattle. It will be interesting to see who can right the ship next Sunday.
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