In typical Bill Belichick fashion, the New England Patriots head coach had both his QBs warming up before the game.
While it was known Mac Jones was starting at QB Monday night, the savvy coach was keeping the Bears guessing.
However, Belichick benched Jones in favor of Bailey Zappe by the second quarter.
Zappe then led the Patriots to two touchdowns, pulling ahead of the Bears late in the second quarter.
So does this mean that Zappe is the new starter in New England?
Fans Have Zappe Fever
The in New England was electric when Zappe came out with back-to-back touchdown drives.
Even fans online agree.
Foxborough is an electric factory rn, Bailey Zappe stepped on the field and turned the whole course of the game around. Touchdown, turnover, touchdown, lead. He is the man. pic.twitter.com/f9qtxWO6Kx
— Rob Ricciardi (@robricciardi16) October 25, 2022
Breaking:
Zappe is ELECTRIC ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/O4Vu4CjBCU
— SportsBettingDime (@SBD) October 25, 2022
However, the Zappe fever didn’t last long, as his heroics during the second quarter quickly ended.
A fumble on a hand-off was the beginning of Zappe’s downfall on Monday night.
Bears Defense Quickly Figured Out Zappe
After two remarkable drives by Zappe, the Bears defense had a plan to stop the Zappe fever.
As pressure came down on Zappe, he no longer had the time for those deep throws.
He shifted his focus to check downs, which were keeping the Patriots from gaining huge chunks of yards.
However, penalties committed by the offensive line didn’t help Zappe either.
While Zappe was hot to start, the Bears defense helped cool him off.
In the second half, Zappe had two interceptions, ruining an otherwise solid night for him.
But with those mistakes, it might mean Jones gets the next start when the Patriots face the Jets.
NEXT: NFL Analysts Slam Bill Belichick Over QB Decision