The New England Patriots have only allowed their previous three opponents to score a combined 26 points oin them, and yet, they have managed to lose all three of those games. The Pats are arguably the worst team in the NFL this season, but they still have five more games to play before they can head into the offseason. With a tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers on deck, it's time for us to lay out our Patriots Week 14 predictions.
The Pats season has been completely miserable, and it's safe to say that, after some ugly games over the past three weeks, their Thursday Night Football game against the Steelers may be the worst of the bunch. Pittsburgh is somehow 7-5 on the season despite having a completely inept offense, and they will now be without starting quarterback Kenny Pickett for this game after he suffered an ankle injury in Week 13.
That means this game will pit Bailey Zappe against Mitch Trubisky, and it's safe to say that many fans who aren't rooting for either one of these teams won't be tuning in. Regardless, there is still a game to be played, so let's dive in and take a look at three bold predictions for the Pats in their upcoming battle with the Steelers.
The Patriots defense will force Mitch Trubisky to commit three turnovers
If it weren't for the Patriots offense being completely inadequate, their defense would probably be regarded as one of the better units in the league. They've been blown out on occasion this season, but they allowed just ten points to the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants, before completely shutting down the Los Angeles Chargers high-powered offense in Week 13 by allowing them to score just six points.
After limiting Justin Herbert, the Pats defense should absolutely tee off on Trubisky, who has only thrown 49 passes this season. Trubisky's numbers aren't particularly great (29/49, 273 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT), and it's guys like him that Bill Belichick has made a career out of torturing. It may not lead to a win, but that doesn't mean Trubisky is going to have a good day.
New England hasn't been great when it comes to forcing turnovers this season, but they will coerce Trubisky into a pair of interceptions given the state of Pittsburgh's offense, and pick up a strip sack along the way. If New England is going to score any points in this one, they need good field position, and the defense will do their best to hold up their end of the bargain.
The Patriots will bench Bailey Zappe in favor of Mac Jones at half time
The Patriots seem to have fully turned over the starting quarterback gig to Bailey Zappe instead of Mac Jones, but realistically speaking, he wasn't much better than Jones has been on the season. Zappe completed 13 of his 25 passes for 141 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, but he struggled with his pocket presence, as he was sacked five times on the day.
This isn't the worst thing for New England's offense, but when you consider Zappe did next to nothing against a Chargers defense that is among the worst in the league, the cause for concern rises. Making matters worse, Zappe is going to be thrown into the fire against a lethal Steelers defense that has kept their team alive amid their own offense's struggles.
We've seen Zappe struggle with facing pressure and recognizing coverages this season, and he could be in for a rough day at the office against the Steelers in this one. Zappe will commit a pair of turnovers, get sacked three times, and rack up less than 50 passing yards in the first half to convince Belichick to once again turn to Jones in the second half of this game.
The Patriots will fail to score a touchdown for the second straight game
It doesn't really matter who New England has at quarterback at this point, because all their options are bad, and they have no offensive talent around them to help right now. Zappe will get the start in this one, and while he probably has decent-sized leash, the Steelers defense is going to give him fits after he barely was treading water against the Chargers.
With Rhamondre Stevenson out for this game, and potentially the rest of the season, the Patriots have lost their best offensive playmaker, putting the burden on Ezekiel Elliott's shoulders. Elliott will probably get a lot of volume on the ground and in the air, but there's only so much he's going to be able to do with Pittsburgh keying in on him.
If they couldn't score against the Chargers, what reason do we have to believe things will be different against the Steelers? Maybe throwing Malik Cunningham in could add a spark to the offense, but he was glued to the sideline against the Chargers for no good reason. New England's offense is about as desolate as they come, and it wouldn't even be a massive surprise if they put up a goose egg against Pittsburgh, but it still does qualify as a fairly bold prediction.
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