Who saw that coming?
The New England Patriots' free fall to the bottom of the NFL standings stopped abruptly Thursday night, as second-string quarterback Bailey Zappe threw three touchdown passes in the first half to lead a 21-18 upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
It was a stunning result considering the Patriots had lost five games in a row entering Week 14 and had scored just 13 points total in their previous three contests. New England looked like a completely different team on "Thursday Night Football," playing with a confidence and swagger that's been missing for much of the season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
🔊 Patriots Talk: Pats win, Zappe shines; does this change any trajectories? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
The Patriots are still just 3-10, however, and with upcoming games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, it'd be surprising if they finished any better than 4-13, which would be the franchise's worst season since 1992. The prevailing expectation is that New England will part ways with head coach Bill Belichick after the season and make significant changes to the roster, front office and coaching staff.
Should Thursday's result change any of those expectations?
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE
Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran weighed the long-term implications of the win on NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Postgame Live.
"What does it mean?" Curran said, as seen in the video above. "It means they are professionals, it means they have not bought into any kind of tank conversation, which we didn't think they would. And it does show that Bailey Zappe, given time, given protection, given some poise and swagger which he was bringing that Mac Jones certainly wasn't, can perform for them.
"... But what does it mean in the long term? Does it wipe out losses to the Colts and to the Raiders and to the Saints and to the Cowboys and to the Commanders? No. But it does change the December conversation just a little bit, and it might have at least a pause on the eject lever. Could it be a pause on the eject lever?"
The Patriots hit a series of "rock bottoms" before Thursday's win, with the offense looking completely inept and discussion about Belichick's job security reaching the point where some wondered whether he'd be fired midseason. Thursday wasn't a total panacea -- New England didn't score in the second half and still owns the NFL's worst offense -- but perhaps it will cool Belichick's hot seat ever so slightly.
"This game will tap down the fervor when it comes to the future of Bill Belichick for just a little bit," former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson said on Postgame Live. "But at the end of the day, it just didn't answer any big-picture questions."
Johnson's point is well-taken. Maybe Thursday's win assures that Patriots owner Robert Kraft doesn't pull the plug on Belichick before Week 18, but as Curran has reported, there's an air of inevitability that Belichick won't be back in 2024 that should remain despite a narrow win over a struggling Steelers team.
That said, perhaps we'll see a more inspired Patriots squad next Sunday against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.