The popular saying goes that history tends to repeat itself. And what’s happening with the New England Patriots‘ rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe seems a lot like something we’ve seen before.
Zappe, who is playing in place of the injured Mac Jones, has ignited the Pats‘ offense, which defeated the Cleveland Browns 38-15 on the road in Week 6. And his performance was sensational: 24-of-34 for 309 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Jones, before his injury, has had three games as a starter, but in none of them has he thrown for more than a touchdown, and only once has he surpassed 300 yards.
Therefore, New England is already asking a couple of questions: Should Mac Jones return to the starting lineup when he is healthy? Can Zappe be a new version of what Tom Brady was for the Pats?
With Zappe, the 2001 story of Tom Brady could be repeated
The story is more than familiar: Pats’ starting QB in 2001 was Drew Bledsoe, but he got injured and his place was taken by a young Tom Brady, who never returned to the bench from that point on. The rest is history.
The current landscape for New England resembles that moment. Jones is the starting QB, Brian Hoyer his backup, and Zappe the third in a row. While Jones doesn’t have a multi-million dollar contract like Bledsoe once did, the timing with the Pats is quite similar.
Hoyer went out with a concussion and in his place came young Zappe. And what has the fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky via Houston Baptist done? Zappe has been brilliant in filling in for Jones.
Since coming in for Hoyer in the game against the Green Bay Packers, Zappe has been able to ignite Bill Belichick‘s offense. Against Packers he had 99 yards and 1 TD; vs. Detroit Lions he went for 1 TD-1 INT and 188 yards. And against the Browns he shined with 309 yards and 2 TDs.
Belichick could make a historic decision again
New England’s head coach Bill Belichick already experienced this with Bledsoe and Brady. At the time, he decided that Brady would be the starter, benching his starting QB. In other words, his hand doesn’s shakes when it comes to making important decisions.
He could do the same with Zappe. Logic dictates that Jones should return to be the starter -Dallas Cowboys’ case, with Cooper Rush doing a good job in place of the injured Dak Prescott has many people thinking that Rush should be the starter – and have a good backup in Zappe.
Only time will answer this.
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