The New England Patriots have rebounded from Monday night’s debacle against the Chicago Bears to beat the division rival New York Jets 22-17. New England remains in last place in the division, but after both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe fell apart under the Monday night spotlight, this was the performance the Pats desperately needed. In the win, Bill Belichick also moved into second place on the all-time wins list.
WHAT QB CONTROVERSY?
Hopefully, this game will quell the calls for Bailey Zappe. Mac Jones played the entire game, completing 24 of 35 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown. While those numbers aren’t great, they are a vast improvement to his first three starts before his ankle injury. He got the start against Chicago, but after struggling in the first quarter, he was benched for Bailey Zappe with many of the Foxboro “faithful” cheering when Jones was benched. Zappe threw two touchdown passes in that game, but completely fell apart in the second half. The facts remain that Jones was named the starter and Zappe was named the third stringer to start the season for a reason. If Zappe were really the future, he would’ve been ahead of Brian Hoyer on the depth chart coming out of training camp. I don’t know if Jones is the future, but I do know that a lot of ‘Zappe’s success in his two starts has more to do with the opponents he faced than it does Bailey Zappe.
PATS DOMINANCE CONTINUES
This is the 13th consecutive win for New England against the Jets. The last time New York managed to win was the final game of the 2015 season. New England was resting players for the postseason and that loss came back to bite them against Denver in the AFC Championship game that year. Since then, the Jets are the one divisional opponent New England has managed to sweep every year. Many thought this was the Jets’ best opportunity to end that drought. But the Patriots defense came up big forcing Zach Wilson to make several mistakes to lockdown the 22-17 win.
BELICHICK PASSES HALAS
Bill Belichick continues to close in on rarified air. The win moves the Patriots coach past George Halas on the all-time wins list. He had the opportunity to clinch that distinction against Halas’ former team, but New England laid an egg against Chicago. He now has 325 career wins. Belichick trails Don Shula by 22 wins. Will he catch the Dolphins legend? He’s 70 years old and 22 wins is a lot, but it’s not impossible. I think he’ll do it.
NEXT UP FOR NEW ENGLAND
The Patriots welcome the Colts to Foxboro next Sunday. It’s been a rough go for Indianapolis this season with Matt Ryan not panning out, and the team turning to Sam Ehlinger against the Commanders. Still, New England has plenty of issues to work through. But, as of right now, I think we are about to see another win streak for the Pats. I don’t think they’ll lose again until they take on the Vikings toward the end of the month. New England has momentum and I see Mac Jones finally coming through when the team needs him going forward.
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