Bill Belichick Praises Bailey Zappe Despite New England Patriots' Shutout Loss
The New England Patriots made a quarterback change, going from Mac Jones to Bailey Zappe starting for the first time this season.
While the move was made to improve the offense, Zappe and the offense actually regressed. After the Pats scored six and seven points the two previous game, they were shut out in a dismal 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium.
Despite being unable to score any points, it wasn't all bad from Patriots coach Bill Belichick's perspective of Zappe's performance.
"I thought he did some good things," Belichick said on The Greg Hill Show on Monday. "Obviously, we didn't produce any points offensively, so that wasn't good. That wasn't just him. That's everybody. We've got to do a better job there, but no turnovers from the quarterback position, and there were some positive plays. We just need to make more."
The Patriots have scored a combined 13 points in their last three games.
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Zappe completed 13 of 25 passes for 141 yards and he was sacked five times. The loss of running back Rhamondre Stevenson certainly didn't help matters, though it was more of the same for the worst offense in football as they couldn't keep up with the Chargers' (5-7) two field goals.
Despite Belichick being pleased with what he saw from Zappe, he was non-committal about him remaining the starter moving forward.
"We'll talk about the gameplan today," Belichick said.
With five straight losses and an offense averaging 12.7 points per game, the season is a lost cause. New England currently holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and with the offense continuing to be lifeless, the 'good things' Belichick has touted from Zappe would be keeping the team within striking distance of getting the franchise quarterback they haven't had since Tom Brady left in 2020.
The Patriots will look to get back in the win column on Thursday Night Football when they face Mitch Trubisky and the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) at 8:15 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium in what's guaranteed to be a shootout.
