EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New England Patriots remain far from resolving their quarterback quandary, but the issue seems at least a bit less pressing this week, with the Patriots coming off a victory.
NFL Reset: Team rankings, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, 2021 QB class
Yet even that largely unsightly performance by Jones was a major improvement over what occurred six days earlier in Foxborough, Mass., when Jones made his return after missing two games because of a high ankle sprain. He threw an egregious interception early in that game against the Chicago Bears, and Coach Bill Belichick pulled him in favor of rookie Bailey Zappe after three offensive possessions. Belichick said afterward that he had planned all along to play both quarterbacks.
Jones clearly remains the starter entering Sunday’s game at home against the Indianapolis Colts. But it remains unclear whether the Patriots, in their third season after Tom Brady’s departure, have their next franchise quarterback on their roster — and, if so, which one it is.
Last season as a rookie, Jones looked like found money. The Patriots were able to stay put at No. 15 in the NFL draft and get Jones — who had played for Belichick’s close coaching ally, Nick Saban, at Alabama — without having to trade up. Belichick installed the rookie as the opening-day starter, released veteran Cam Newton and guided the Patriots back into the AFC playoffs.
But the Patriots were careful not to rely too heavily on Jones as a rookie, as when they beat the Buffalo Bills in windy conditions in Orchard Park, N.Y., while attempting just three passes. Eventually, the excellent quarterbacks develop into something more than what Jones was last season. And so far, Jones is not doing that. The Patriots lost offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in the offseason when he left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, and Jones’s on-field growth perhaps has been affected.
Patriots fans seem to prefer Zappe, an unheralded fourth-round draft choice this year from Western Kentucky. The Patriots won the two games started by Zappe in Jones’s absence. The home crowd at Gillette Stadium began chanting Zappe’s name when Jones struggled early against the Bears. When Zappe took the field and quickly led the Patriots to two touchdowns, it appeared there might be more than a quarterback controversy brewing; it felt like a quarterback succession. Jones, it seemed, had been Zapped. (Or should that be: Zapp-ied?)
But things unraveled from there as Zappe threw a pair of interceptions and the Patriots lost, 33-14. Belichick stuck with Jones as the starter for the Jets game, and Zappe remained on the sideline Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Belichick seems to have made it clear that Jones will be given the benefit of the doubt. That is befitting his status as a first-round selection.
It is undeniable, however, that Zappe has provided a lift when he has been on the field. And this feels far from settled, as the Patriots enter a stretch that could determine whether they’ll be a factor in the AFC playoff race: After a bye week following the Colts game, they face the Jets, Vikings and Bills.
Top five teams
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They moved to 7-0 with the routine victory over the Steelers and should have little trouble Thursday night with the Texans. A run at 17-0 does not look entirely out of the question, given the remaining schedule. |
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Facing the Bills on Sunday night in Orchard Park, N.Y., was not the best thing for the Packers, after all. |
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The Chiefs return from their bye week to face the Titans in an interesting game Sunday night. They have the league’s third-ranked run defense, which surely will be tested by Derrick Henry. |
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4. Vikings |
Kirk Cousins’s appearance Sunday at FedEx Field has become more interesting, with the recently improved play of the Commanders. The Vikings cannot afford a misstep, with the Bills and Cowboys next on the schedule. |
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5. Cowboys |
Now, that was the version of the offense the Cowboys envisioned when Dak Prescott returned to the lineup. The 49-point outburst against the Bears was impressive. |
The ’21 QB class
Last year’s draft class of quarterbacks was supposed to be memorably good, with five of them being chosen within the first 15 selections. Trevor Lawrence went first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wilson was taken second by the Jets and Trey Lance third by the 49ers. Justin Fields was picked 11th by the Bears, and Jones went 15th to the Patriots.
Already, there is room to wonder whether there is a perennial Pro Bowler in the group.
It’s difficult to make any judgments about Lance, given how little he has played. He was Jimmy Garoppolo’s backup last season as a rookie, then suffered a broken ankle two games into this season after the Niners had resolved to make him the starter.
Meanwhile, the other four have had their issues. Lawrence and Fields already are on their second NFL head coaches, with the Jaguars hiring Doug Pederson after last season’s Urban Meyer fiasco and the Bears switching from Matt Nagy to Matt Eberflus. Lawrence is making progress under Pederson but perhaps not as much as some might have expected. Fields has been inconsistent, and the new coaching staff in Chicago was slow to implement an offensive approach that emphasizes his strengths.
Jones is left to fend off the challenge of Zappe with the Patriots, and Jets Coach Robert Saleh is answering questions about whether Wilson will be benched. Wilson bristled following Sunday’s defeat to the Patriots when he was asked about his failure thus far to make a major leap in Year 2 in the NFL.
“I don’t care about stats … I don’t look at it like that,” Wilson said. “I go one game at a time, one play at a time.”
The struggles of the class underscore the fact that very few quarterbacks enter the league as can’t-miss prospects. For most, much depends on circumstances, resilience, development and a little bit of luck.
Saleh could have been speaking for the other coaches of the would-be prized second-year quarterbacks when he said Sunday of Wilson: “We’ll figure it out. We’ve got to help him out.”
Bottom five teams
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28. Raiders |
The 24-0 loss in New Orleans was downright abysmal. The Raiders have the Jaguars, Colts and Broncos up next. Even so, there’s little reason to believe that a turnaround is at hand. |
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29. Panthers |
That was a creative way to lose Sunday in Atlanta, with the penalty during the celebration of the tying TD, the missed 48-yard extra point and the missed field goal attempt in OT. But even at 2-6, Carolina remains a contender in the NFC South. |
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30. Jaguars |
Yes, Trevor Lawrence is improving with Doug Pederson as his coach in his second NFL season. But frankly, he’s not improving enough. |
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31. Texans |
The Texans’ lone win has come against the Jaguars, and they don’t get to face Jacksonville again until Jan. 1. That’s a long wait for another winnable game. |
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Dan Campbell said after firing defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant that it’s a “production-based business.” Campbell might not want to be reminding his own bosses of that. |
The Dolphins’ maneuvering
No team helped itself more at Tuesday’s trade deadline than the Miami Dolphins, who landed standout pass rusher Bradley Chubb in a significant deal with the Denver Broncos.
The Dolphins sent a first-round draft pick next year to the Broncos as part of the Chubb trade. It was the first-round choice of the 49ers, obtained by the Dolphins in the trade that enabled the Niners to move up to the No. 3 spot to get Lance.
Miami has put all three of the first-round selections that it received from the 49ers to excellent use.
The Dolphins immediately traded back up in the 2021 draft order for the No. 6 overall choice, which it used on wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. They traded another first-rounder to the Kansas City Chiefs in March as part of the package for wideout Tyreek Hill.
Source: WP
