Replaced rising midfielder Billy Zappy Mac Jones Monday cheers from New England Patriots rally. The hysteria was when he led the Patriots to a 14-10 lead with a touchdown in his first two drives. Everyone with a social media account announced that Jones would never play on Zappe again.
This went on for about an hour. maybe less. The drunken high from Zappe’s first two drives quickly faded, and all that was left in the end was a surprising and disappointing 33-14 home loss to Chicago Bears.
Bears detonated Patriot missiles. Zappe started hot and then cooled. New England did not score in the second half. Chicago scored another 23 points in the game. The Bears’ highest score in a game this season was 23. They averaged 15.5 points per game and more than doubled on Monday.
Patriots are 3-4. Now they have a quarterback controversy that Bill Belichick hasn’t made it clear after the match. The Patriots head coach declined to name a rookie forward and said Jones’ pre-session objection played no part in his decision.
“I told my midfielders we’re going to play both. And that’s what we did,” Belichick told reporters.
Pressed on whether Jones’ seats were performance related, Belichick said:
“That’s not what it used to be,” he said. “You can write whatever you want to write. That’s not what it was.”
What a night rollercoaster for Patriots fans.
Mac Jones off the bench in the second quarter
Jones returned from a sprained ankle after missing three games. The Patriots made sure to leak to the media that there is no controversy over the quarterback. Jones will start when he’s ready. Jones got the start on Monday.
However, Jones didn’t seem ready. It was 3 of 6 for 13 yards after just over a quarter. He threw a miserable interception, floating a pass in coverage taken by Jakoan Presker. That’s when Zappe came and roared the crowd.
It looked like we were watching something big happen on Monday Night Football. Zappy immediately threw a 30-yard touchdown Jacoby Myers After a failed cover by the bears. 43 yard pass to Devante Parker Create another landing. If you’ve been on social media, you’ve heard a lot about how this was another Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady moment. Patience is not a powerful tool for social media.
The Patriots did not score again. The offensive line could not protect Zappe. Zappe didn’t make anything else happen. Meanwhile, the Patriots’ defense allowed the Bears to accumulate points.
By 10:45 p.m. ET, about an hour and a half after the world was convinced that Zappy had never given up a quarterback job for the Patriots, the Bears advanced 33-14. The defeat was continuous.
Jones struggled. Zappy didn’t do much. The Patriots fell below 0.500 with a bad loss. What now?
Bears dominate to win
Give the Bears credit for destroying the Zappe Party.
Chicago came in 2-4, and just suffered an unspeakable ugly loss at home to Washington leaders Thursday night in Week 6. When the Patriots gained momentum with a 14-10 lead, I felt the Bears would roll.
This did not happen. Justin Fields Keep playing, especially with his legs. His 25-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Herbert, when he hit the ball correctly while about to be crushed by two Patriots defenders, he changed the tone of the game. He stumbled in the process of delivering a sweep plane just before the halftime and was retrieved by the Bears. Chicago scored a goal in the field of gifts and topped 20-14. The Patriots never recovered.
Zappe wasn’t terrible but after his hot start not much happened. Zappy finished 14 of 22 for 185 yards. He threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter after the Bears had a 19-point lead. It wasn’t that kind of performance that definitively ends the quarterback’s question, though Jones’ struggles may have been a factor in the decision.
New England did well to come back 3-3. Things really got better when they took the lead on Monday night. All this changed quickly.
