Would Bailey Zappe be able to put two good halves together playing in the altitude in Denver on Christmas Eve night?
With the Patriots starter going the Jekyll & Hyde route the previous two games, one of the pre-game storylines to this ho-hum Week 16 game was seeing if Zappe could play well throughout the game.
Against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, Zappe was a first half wonder, but turned into a pumpkin during the second half of both of those games.
Did Zappe break the trend?
BET ANYTHINGGET $250 BONUSESPN BET
21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
Here’s the rundown: Zappe didn’t wilt in the second half, like the previous two games. Instead, he got better, putting together a tremendous third quarter.
He threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns, completing 8-of-10 passes, in the third quarter alone.
After a tough opening play on the first series of the game, Zappe just shook that off, much like he shook off a blitz-happy Broncos defense, and made plays, whether from the pocket, or on the move.
And he did so without his favorite target, Hunter Henry, who missed the game with a knee injury. He also didn’t have JuJu Smith-Schuster.
No matter, Zappe made do with what was around him.
In that third quarter, he hit Ezekiel Elliott (15 yards) and Mike Gesicki (11 yards) for touchdowns. He also made good use of Demario Pop Douglas (5 catches, 74 yards).
The problem was the fourth quarter. With a 23-7 lead, the Patriots got conservative with the play-calling. They went three-and-out on their first three possessions. The Broncos were able to tie the game with less than three minutes to go.
Instead of attacking, the Patriots played it safe. In that mode, Zappe, who tends to be a bit streaky, went cold. Or, the short passes he was allowed to throw gained nothing.
But with the game on the line later, Zappe delivered.
He had the ball in his hands, score tied, with :58 seconds to go. He managed to engineer one more drive to set Chad Ryland up for the game-winning 56-yard field goal, giving the Patriots a 26-23 win.
Zappe hit DeVante Parker for a 26-yard game, on a third and three to get the Patriots in Denver territory. That play was huge. He then followed with completions to Elliott and Gesicki, to set up Ryland.
He finished completing 25 of 33 passes for 256 yards, and the improbable win. And, he further cemented the belief that he could be a capable backup going forward, and perhaps, be the bridge quarterback should the Patriots draft another QB in the draft.
Zappe showed some guts, and a ton of poise with that final drive after the lead dissolved.
As mentioned, it couldn’t have started much worse for Zappe.
The Patriots received the opening kickoff, starting at the 25-yard line. Zappe was under center, faked a handoff on the very first play, and a second later, fumbled after getting smoked by D.J. Jones. It was a sack fumble, also recovered by Jones.
For whatever reason, the Patriots started Vederian Lowe and James Ferentz on the left side. Ferentz got obliterated on that first snap, and on came the rush.
The good news there is the Patriots defense held. Denver didn’t score.
But that set the tone. The Broncos made it difficult on Zappe, blitzing on most throwing downs.
Zappe was rushed on several throws because of that, missing open receivers in the first quarter.
He did recover from that opening miscue, completing 10 of 13 passes for 92. He led one scoring drive that resulted in a field goal.
He led another potential scoring drive before the half, only Ryland missed a 47-yarder leaving the Patriots trailing 7-3.
Zappe did make a few nice throws in the opening half, most notably to Jalen Reagor for 28 yards down the left side line. The play-calling in the first half was pretty conservative. The Patriots didn’t go on fourth down.
The offensive line also wasn’t getting much push on short running plays, which didn’t help. But it all changed in the third quarter.
Zappe and the offense made plays to put points on the board, while the defense was immense once again. On the whole, he completed five passes of 20-or-more yards (41, 30, 28, 20, 26).
The fourth quarter wasn’t the best, but in the end, Zappe still managed to deliver.
NFL fans can wager online on Massachusetts sports betting with enticing promo codes from top online sportsbooks. Use the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo code for massive new user bonuses.
