Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. Maybe the New England Patriots I should have called Drew Bledsoe to see if there was any juice left in that big arm. It’s not like he was able to move when he was young anyway.
I hope no one came away from the Patriots’ Week 12 game thinking Zappe played better than Jones. Yes, Jones was off pace, off target and committed more turnovers. But that’s only because Bobby Okereke couldn’t hold on to a bad pass from Zappe. If the New York Giants The second half kickoff goes out of bounds, I highly doubt the Patriots will score a single point.
The Patriots pulled Jones after his ugly performance in the first half. Following the Giants’ special teams error, the Pats scored a touchdown. On that drive, Zappe made a pass that wasn’t a screen. A late pass and almost intercepted.
Every Zappe completion for the rest of the game was a screen until the Patriots’ final drive. Jones passed for 89 yards in the first half. In the second half, Zappe passed for just 54 yards and averaged fewer passing yards per attempt – just 3.9 on the day.
While New England didn’t bring any airfield to MetLife Stadium, the ground game traveled. Overall, the Pats totaled 147 yards on 31 attempts in Week 12, 89 of which came in the second half.
The Giants offense only managed 65 yards in the second half. Both scores in their 10-7 victory followed turnovers that propelled the G-Men deep into New England territory. THE The Tommy DeVito story is funnybut he played average, at best, on Sunday.
The Patriots’ task to win this game was no mountain climb. Rather, it was a playground ladder from which they slipped and fell in tears onto the wood shavings. The combined performance of Jones and Zappe was not at NFL level. If they had played at even this basic level, the Patriots would have defeated the Giants.
When the Patriots were beaten by more than 30 points in consecutive weeks against the Dallas Cowboys And New Orleans Saints Earlier this season, at least these teams had solid defenses and are in playoff contention. The Giants have miraculously pieced together a 4-8 record, but are by no means good enough to contend for the playoffs.
However, DeVito and his Jersey juice continue to take the NFL by storm. As an undrafted rookie, he appears to be better suited to lead an NFL offense than the two Patriots QBs who recorded far more professional pass attempts than him.
Someone who cares about Bill Belichick and Pats defense called Bledsoe. Tell him he can play shotgun the entire game and have him throw the ball in 1.5 seconds. How much worse can it be behind center than what Jones and Zappe did in an ugly loss to a bad NFL team?
