weei football sunday: How will things be different for the patriots with zappe?
The Patriots lost their 10th game of the season at a cold, wet, and rainy Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Their opponents in the Chargers just scored 6 points in the contest, but a, yet another, staunch performance from New England’s defense wasn’t enough for their offense to capitalize on.
Here are five immediate thoughts from the contest:
5 - Yes, it was pouring rain, but tickets were cheaper, and Gillette Stadium was emptier, than I’ve ever seen on Sunday.
The game-time temperature in Foxbough, Massachusetts on Sunday was a crisp 45 degrees, and a steady rain poured down throughout the entire contest.
This, likely in combination with the Patriots sitting at 2-9 in the middle of their worst season since the ‘90s, resulted in Gillette Stadium being emptier than I’ve ever seen.
Not only was the stadium empty, but at one point around 30 minutes prior to kickoff, you could buy a lower bowl seats at Gillette for just $5 on Ticketmaster (h/t Sophie Weller, AtoZ Sports).
While weather certainly played a factor here, Robert and Jonathan Kraft can’t be too thrilled with the fan reaction surrounding the Patriots team lately, especially after being flexed out of their only Monday Night Football slot coming up against the Chiefs earlier in the week.
4 - No spark with addition of Zappe on offense.
While the Patriots, rightfully, made a switch at quarterback this weekend by starting Bailey Zappe over Mac Jones, it didn’t really make much of a difference at all in the on-field product.
New England didn’t score a single point in their 10th loss of the season on Sunday, and put up a total of just 257 yards.
As for the quarterback himself, Zappe completed just 13 of his 25 pass attempts for 141 yards and, despite seeing the pocket better than Jones has for most of the contest, was sacked five times.
Major, major change is needed on the offensive side of the ball for the Pats this offseason.
3 - This Patriots’ injury riddled 2023 gets worse.
The Patriots have had a tough go of it on the injury front in 2023.
It started on the defensive side of the ball when, in their Week 4 contest versus the Cowboys, they lost two of their stars in Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez to biceps and shoulder injuries respectively. Both players were placed on injured reserve and are likely out for the season.
Then, in Week 8 versus the Dolphins, they lost their top wide receiver in Kendrick Bourne to a torn ACL, ending his season as well.
The hits kept coming on Sunday when Rhamondre Stevenson left the game with an ankle injury following controversial hip-drop tackle from Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu. The running back stayed down on the field for some time before being helped off by trainers all the way into the locker room. He couldn’t put any weight on his right leg.
Don’t get me wrong, injuries aren’t the reason the Patriots are 2-10, talent is. But it’s hard to argue that they’ve done them any favors either.
2 - Patriots defense shuts down a top-five quarterback and a top-10 defense.
While the Patriots’ offense was, once again, abysmal on Sunday, the defense was once again spectacular.
Against a consensus top-five NFL quarterback, New England allowed Justin Herbert to throw for just 212 yards, and held him to 0 touchdown passes for just the second time this season.
Los Angeles, as a unit, entered Sunday averaging 347.5 yards per game and 24.5 points per game. On Sunday? They gained just 221 yards and scored just 6 points.
Over their last three games, the Patriots have allowed 10, 10, and 6 points. They’ve lost all three games.
The defense ain’t the problem.
1 - The path to a, or maybe even the, top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft became clearer on Sunday.
As I’ve said many time on this website, the Patriots (or any team for that matter) are never going to actively tank in the NFL.
Sometimes, you're just bad. And that’s what New England is. In falling to 2-10 on the season, they remain the worst team in the AFC and are primed for a top-three overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Better yet, at time of posting, the Arizona Cardinals are on their way to their third win of the season (up 17-3 on the Steelers), which would put them at 3-10 on the year and behind the Patriots in the draft order. This would give New England the No. 2 overall pick by the end of the day.
If you take this miserable 2-10 season for what it is, It’s not all that bad as a potential franchise-altering player could be on the horizon.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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