A lot of things are up in the air when it comes to the Patriots-Broncos game on Sunday.
For starters, will the game actually be played with the Patriots having three players currently on the COVID list and the Gillette Stadium facility being closed Wednesday and Thursday?
[UPDATE]: The game has been rescheduled for Monday at 5 p.m.
Another thing is who will start at quarterback.
Cam Newton is currently on the COVID list, but reportedly does not have any symptoms. If he continues to be asymptomatic and has two negative tests 24 hours apart, he would be eligible to return to action. And then there’s Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, who both struggled in Monday’s loss to the Chiefs.
Bill Belichick said on a conference call Thursday that Newton has been participating in virtual meetings the last few days, so one would imagine if he’s medically cleared to play, he will. Also, it benefits him that the Patriots haven’t practiced this week, so it’s not like he missed any game prep.
But, if Newton cannot play it there really shouldn’t be much of a debate — Stidham should get the start.
While Stidham did not play well Monday, Hoyer played even worse. And the biggest difference with Hoyer was that his mistakes were mental — not knowing the situation at the end of the half and how many timeouts the team had, as well as knowing who was around him in the pocket and getting strip-sacked deep in Chiefs territory in the third quarter.
Hoyer supposedly got the nod last week because of his knowledge and veteran experience, but that did not play out at all.
Stidham, who is in his second year, has much more upside than Hoyer and one would imagine he will be in a better position to succeed if he starts this week than last week. Before last Saturday, he was the third-string QB working on the scout team.
Also, the Patriots need to see what they have in him. This is the perfect opportunity to do it, and it helps the opponent is the Broncos, who are one the bottom third teams in the league.
Last week the argument to start Hoyer was he gave the team a better chance to win, but that cannot be said this week.
If Newton cannot play, Stidham needs to start.
