The New England Patriots nearly pulled off a huge upset despite missing their top two quarterbacks. Rookie QB Bailey Zappe took over after Brian Hoyer — who started due to Mac Jones' injured ankle — suffered a head injury.
Zappe handled himself quite well in his first bit of real NFL action. He was poised, in control, and completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, pushing the Green Bay Packers' defense and keeping it close until overtime.
He now has the opportunity to get his first career NFL start, and who knows? Even take over Mac Jones, who hasn't looked all that well this season. However, he's really not thinking about any of that right now.
NFL News: Bailey Zappe Isn't Thinking About Starting Or Being A Backup
“Really, I’m just treating it like every other week. I’m preparing every day like I have the last three or four weeks,” the rookie said on WEEI’s “Merloni, Fauria and Mego." “I’m going to continue to work with my teammates, work with my coaches, and continue to watch film, get into the game plan, and get ready for whatever role it is for me on Sunday.”
Zappe Wasn't Pleased With His Performance
Zappe seemingly took a page out of Bill Belichick's book. He claims that he wasn't all that pleased with the way he played and claimed that he's only trying to do his job and what's best for the team:
“Looking back at it, there were some throws I felt like I could have made,” Zappe said. “Some mistakes I made we saw on film, that going into this week, in practice I’m going to continue to work on, continue to improve on.”
“Just to continue to do my job," Zappe added. "Get the ball to playmakers, let them do what they do best out in space and continue to stay cool, calm and collected back there and run the offense and, really, just do the best I can for the team."
All things considered, it would be a big surprise to see him taking over Mac, who's touted to be their franchise QB for the future. But we've seen this happen way too many times before not to at least consider it.