Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe's insertion into Monday night's game against the Bears early in the second quarter came as a surprise to some observers and Patriots players -- and, to some extent, even to Zappe himself.
After a week of speculation over who would lead the offense upon starter Mac Jones' return from an ankle injury, Zappe took over after the Patriots' three first-quarter drives sputtered under Jones. The quick hook for Jones in favor of Zappe sparked wild debate and confusion among fans and journalists on social media.
On Tuesday, the rookie signal-caller revealed on WEEI that while he was expecting to play against Chicago based on what had been communicated by head coach Bill Belichick, he wasn't sure how or when it would unfold.
"No sir. That’s kind of up to Coach Belichick, that’s his decision," Zappe told hosts Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria and Megan Ottolini. "I kind of prepared the whole week like I have the last seven weeks, to have a mentality that I was one play away. Whenever that was, I was going to be ready, and kind of prepared that way this past week and took every rep like a game rep."
Earlier in the day, head coach Bill Belichick said during his own appearance on WEEI that he had informed Jones and Zappe that they would both play during the "Monday Night Football" matchup.
“We were going to play both quarterbacks, and that’s what we did,” Belichick said on The Greg Hill Show. “That was what we were planning to do."
While Jones and Zappe seemed to be in the loop on the somewhat unconventional gameplan, at least a couple Patriots players apparently were not.
Offensive guard Mike Onwenu told reporters after the game that he wasn't expecting Zappe to see action and the team wasn't even informed of the switch when it happened.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers sympathized for Jones, describing Jones' demotion and the home crowd's pro-Zappe chants as an "ugly" scene.
Further compound the confusion was Belichick's halftime interview with ESPN's Lisa Salters, during which he claimed Jones would be reinserted into the game during the second half. It never came to pass.
On Tuesday, Belichick said during his WEEI appearance that Jones remained on the sideline because the Bears pulled away in the second half.
"The game got out of hand there in the third quarter, so I didn’t feel like it was in the best interest to put Mac back in the game. That’s really it.”
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