Bailey Zappe helped deliver the New England Patriots a rare win last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Repeating that feat Sunday versus the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will be a far more difficult task.
Zappe got his fourth career start in Week 14. He was poised in the pocket and accurate throwing the football. The second-year quarterback completed 19 of 28 pass attempts for 240 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. The Patriots emerged with a 21-18 road win to improve their record to 3-10.
What was Zappe's assessment of the Steelers game and his own performance?
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"I think we started off fast. We always talk about starting fast as far as an offense, getting ahead early," Zappe explained Wednesday at a press conference. "We were able to do that. The first half and the second half there were some things that I missed as far as reads and throws. You look at the interception, that's something that I can prevent very easily. Just checking it down to Zeke (Elliott) instead of forcing it. There's always good and bad, and there's things that I can look back on and hopefully fix this week and go on to the Chiefs game."
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Week 14 was a tale of two halves for Zappe and the Patriots offense.
Zappe became the first Patriots QB to throw three first-half touchdowns since Tom Brady accomplished the feat in Week 17 of the 2018 campaign. New England's 21 first-half points were eight more than it scored in the previous three games combined. But the offense couldn't carry that momentum into the second half and was shutout over the final two quarters. Zappe completed just five passes for 44 yards with an interception in the second half.
What went wrong for Zappe in the second half last week, and what does he need to work on before Sunday?
"I think it kind of falls on me," he said. "I was missing a few throws. I wasn't sitting in the pocket as much as I was in the first half. I was kind of getting antsy. Those are things that I want to fix throughout this week, pocket drills before and after practice and just trying to clean some of those things up. It's nothing that – they're a great defense – but it's things that for us, that we can fix moving into this week."
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All indications are Zappe will get another start Sunday against the Chiefs, who are struggling more than expected with a 8-5 record. They've lost back-to-back games for the first time since September 2021. However, the Chiefs defense has been stellar throughout the campaign, particularly against the pass, which poses a tough test for Zappe and the Patriots offense this weekend.
Kansas City's defense also blitzes more than most teams, which requires extra attention to detail for the quarterback and the offensive line.
"Just watching a lot of film, understanding what they like to do. They do a lot of things," Zappe said of the Chiefs defense. "I think a lot of it just comes down to the communication between me and (center David Andrews) and the offensive line, trying to get all on the same page.
"As long as we're on the same page, everything will hopefully go well. You're just trying to believe in the offensive line that they're going to pick up the pressures, whatever they bring, and just being able to stand back there confidently and just take care of the football and throw to the open guys and let them make plays."