Patriots fall to Chargers, 6-0: Quick observations after Bailey Zappe can’t spark woeful offense
Swapping in Bailey Zappe for Mac Jones at quarterback did little to alleviate New England’s woes on Sunday.
It seems like “Zappe Fever” isn’t catching on this year in Foxborough.
New England’s decision to swap in Bailey Zappe for Mac Jones as the team’s starting QB did little to spark a snuffed-out offensive unit on Sunday against the Chargers, with the Patriots dropping their fifth-straight game via a 6-0 loss to Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Patriots are now 2-10 on the season, while the Chargers are 5-7.
Here are a few early observations from New England’s latest loss on a miserable, rainy afternoon in Foxborough.
New England’s offense still struggles under Zappe
After a miserable 10-7 loss to the Giants last week where Mac Jones was benched a fourth time this season, New England’s offense could only go up from there, right?
For the first time since Week 6 of the 2022 NFL season, Bailey Zappe earned the starting nod for New England — with Bill Belichick and Co. hoping that such a switch under center would give the Patriots the jolt they needed.
And with the Chargers giving up a league-worst 282 passing yards per contest entering Sunday afternoon, the stage seemed set for a Zappe-led offense to take some sort of step forward — as minuscule as it might be.
Yes, Zappe wasn’t knocked for a back-breaking turnover, as was the case time and time again during Jones’s latest extended tenure as QB1.
But the end result was still the same for New England on offense against the Chargers, with the Patriots ending another frustrating afternoon with a shutout loss.
A brutal injury to Rhamondre Stevenson and some inaccurate throws from Zappe had New England’s offense stuck in the mud in the first half.
Zappe connected on just five of his 12 pass attempts in the first two quarters for 39 yards, heading to the locker room amid a chorus of boos and a 6-0 deficit.
Belichick and the Patriots stuck with Zappe coming out of the second half, with the 24-year-old QB yielding stronger returns as the game went on — with his stronger pocket presence leading to a few positive gains through the air.
Still, another brutal performance from New England’s O-line led to several momentum-sapping sacks against Zappe, with the QB’s inaccurate arm also compounding the Patriots’ struggles with putting together consistent drives.
Zappe finished the game completing 13 of his 25 attempts for 141 passing yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 68.9 rating.
There’s no question that Mac Jones’s time as New England’s starting QB had likely run its course.
But with New England’s offense unable to make up any ground with Zappe in place, the issue with this unit might be deeper rooted than whoever is under center.
Rhamondre Stevenson leaves with injury
When it rains, it pours for the Patriots when it comes to injuries in 2023.
In a season where New England has already lost several key cogs like Matt Judon, Christian Gonzalez, and Kendrick Bourne, Sunday saw the Patriots’ top remaining offensive contributor land on the shelf in Rhamondre Stevenson.
After gaining 39 yards on the ground in the middle of New England’s second drive of the afternoon, Stevenson was taken down by a brutal hip-drop tackle from Tuli Tuipulotu.
Stevenson fumbled on the play, with the Chargers gaining possession on their own 31-yard line. But the most concerning development for New England was Stevenson himself, as the running back couldn’t put any weight on his right leg after Tuipulotu brought his full weight down on him during the tackle.
Stevenson went right to the locker room instead of the blue medical tent along the sideline, with New England tabbing him as questionable to return with an ankle injury. The team officially ruled Stevenson out going into the second half.
With New England’s top offensive conduit hobbled for the remainder of the afternoon, the ground game fell on the shoulders of Ezekiel Elliott the rest of the way — with the veteran finishing with 92 combined yards on the ground and through the air.
Considering that New England’s passing game might be neutralized regardless of who’s under center, there stands a good chance that the Patriots’ offense gets even worse in Week 14 and beyond if Stevenson is ruled out for an extended stretch.
Defense stands tall … and has little to show for it
One has to wonder how much more New England’s defense can take after yet another impressive performance from this whole unit held little sway over the team’s final result.
After holding both the Colts and Giants to 10 points in back-to-back losses in November, New England’s defense submitted another stout showing against a pretty talented Chargers offense.
Despite entering Sunday’s game eighth overall in points per game (24.5), Los Angeles only generated 241 total yards and 13 first downs against a Patriots roster that continues to be a tough out despite several injuries at critical areas of its depth chart.
Los Angeles’ lone source of offense came via a pair of field goals from Cameron Dicker in the first half.
Even with the win, Justin Herbert has continued to struggle against Bill Belichick-led defenses. In three games against New England, Herbert has only thrown two touchdowns and four interceptions.
New England’s defense deserves full credit for not packing things in at this stage of the season, even with little to no support from the team’s offensive unit. Still, the graphic below paints the picture of just how little this side of the ball has been rewarded in New England this season.
Make that a 1-3 record for New England under those circumstances.
“We gave up 10 points, and lost the game two weeks in a row,” safety Adrian Phillips told Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald following the team’s 10-7 loss to the Giants. “So now, we’ve gotta give up zero; whatever we can (do) to get our offense the ball back and get a chance to win. If 10 ain’t enough, then we gotta bat 1.000, and give up zero.”
That’s an impossible ask for New England’s defense. But it might be the reality at this point in the season.
Khalil Mack feasts against Patriots’ O-line
One of the few bright spots for New England’s offense during last week’s loss to the Giants was a stronger performance in pass protection from the Patriots’ O-line.
But those positive gains regressed in short against a Chargers pass rush negated by Khalil Mack.
Mack finished Sunday’s game with two sacks, two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss — routinely making mince meat of both Mike Onwenu and Conor McDermott.
The Chargers ended the game with five total sacks and six QB hits.
ODDS AND ENDS
Very cool to see Robert Kraft and the Patriots invite the Lewiston High School boys soccer team to ring the bell at the Gillette Stadium lighthouse prior to Sunday’s game.
Shortly after October’s deadly mass shooting in Maine’s second-largest city, the boys soccer team orchestrated an impressive playoff run — defeating Portland’s Deering High School in overtime to win its fourth state title in eight years.
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It seems like there’s a pretty nasty bug making its way through New England’s locker room these days. New England ruled out both Deatrich Wise and Kayshon Boutte ahead of kick-off due to illness, while Ty Montgomery missed practice earlier this week due to the same issue.
Midway through the second quarter against the Chargers, cornerback Shaun Wade was listed as questionable to return due to illness — further straining an already banged-up defense. Wade was officially ruled out going into the second half.
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According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Sunday stood as the first time since 1993 that the Patriots have not scored a first-half point in back-to-back games.
LIVE UPDATES
3:43: Patriots turn it over on downs.
3:40: Incomplete pass on that big gain from Parker. Brutal.
Bit of a redemption for Thornton, who reels off a 39-yard rush for New England’s largest gain of the afternoon.
Zappe goes with the deep ball, but Tyquan Thornton can’t reel it in. Brutal.
And another promising drive ends in disappointment for New England after L.A. reels off back-to-back sacks.
Zappe with a nice heads-up play to rush for the first down on a fourth-down situation. Got the Chargers to bite with the pump fake.
New England’s defense continues to frustrate this Chargers team.
Bailey Zappe in the first half: 5-of-12 for 39 yards.
HALFTIME: Patriots trail the Chargers, 6-0. Plenty of boos for New England as the team makes it way to the locker room.
Dicker connects on another 38-yard field goal. 6-0 Chargers.
Mack Wilson nearly comes up with the pick against Herbert. Patriots D is doing what it can to stay in this game.
Rough game from Mike Onwenu so far. Khalil Mack has been chewing him up and getting some pressure on Zappe.
Nice run here from Elliott. Doing what he can to keep the run game going with Stevenson injured.
Cameron Dicker connects on a 38-yard field goal. Chargers take a 3-0 lead with 9:09 left in the first half.
Nice pass break-up from Jalen Mills on Everett.
Patriots CB Shaun Wade is questionable to return due to illness. Seems like a bug is going around New England’s locker room.
The Patriots have had four drives today. Three have ended with punts. One ended with a fumble.
1:43: Three drives, three punts for the Chargers offense.
1:35: End First: Patriots and Chargers are scoreless.
1:33: At least Bryce Baringer is having a good day.
1:30: Bailey Zappe has completed just 3 of his 6 passes for 13 total yards.
1:26: Rhamondre Stevenson is questionable to return with an ankle injury.
1:25: Patriots do negate the fumble with another 3-and-out. Defense doing its part.
1:24: Brutal hip drop tackle by Tuli Tuipulotu onn Stevenson.
1:24: Yikes. Stevenson going right to the locker room.
1:21: Stevenson needs help making his way to the blue sideline tent. Really doesn’t look like he can’t put weight on his left leg.
1:20: A promising drive by New England’s offense ends with a Stevenson fumble. Chargers take over on their own 31. Looks like Stevenson is really hurting.
1:13: Patriots get whistled for 12 men in the huddle.
1:12: Patriots get a first down. Stevenson with a nine-yard pickup.
1:07: Nice response by New England’s defense, which forces the Chargers to go 3-and-out. Solid break-up by Myles Bryant there.
1:04: Zappe does start — and New England goes 3-and-out.
1:00: Very nice move by the Patriots.
12:33: No real surprise, but Bailey Zappe is the starting QB in warmups.
12:31: A look at the Patriots’ O-line today:
12:23: Not surprising … but YIKES!
12:22: All three of Zappe, Cunningham, and Jones are out here for warmups.
12:17: Not … great from Chad Ryland.
12:15: Warmups are underway at Gillette Stadium.
12:04: Looks like the Patriots are leaving no stone unturned in terms of QB options today.
11:49: Patriots inactives are out. Even with Zappe expected to start, Mac Jones will be active today. Will be interesting to see if he’s the backup or the third-string option for the Patriots.
11:30 a.m.: Greetings from a very rainy Gillette Stadium.
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