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Gillette Stadium was filled with Zappe Fever on Sunday. New England Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe gave fans a reason to be filled with the fever. He completed 17-of-21 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 29-0 win over the Detroit Lions, which was also the first start of Zappe's career.
Zappe led the Patriots on a scoring drive in five of their first six possessions on Sunday and in six of their nine overall possessions. The final possession saw Zappe taking victory kneels as Gillette Stadium roared in “Zappe! Zappe! Zappe!” chants. In the Patriots' locker room after the game, several defensive players gave Zappe daps and congratulated him on his performance and first NFL win.
While everyone else around him is feeling the Zappe Fever, the young quarterback doesn't have a case of his own illness.
“I like the support, but to be honest with you, I was just more excited about the win,” Zappe said of fans chanting his name. “To get a win with my team, that was really the focus point for this week. That was going to be the focus point for the rest of the season.”
Sunday was much different situation for Zappe than his first time playing in an NFL game. He was thrusted into the Week 4 loss to the Green Bay Packers late in the first quarter after Brian Hoyer, who was starting for an injured Mac Jones, suffered a concussion on the second drive of the game.
Zappe helped give the Patriots a chance to pull off the upset before they fell 27-24 in overtime. But he wasn't really asked to do much in that game, completing 10-of-15 passes for just 99 yards with a touchdown.
Now that he had the chance to prepare knowing that he would play, Zappe admitted that it made a difference as to how comfortable he was out there.
“I would say a fair amount,” Zappe said on the changing of his comfort level. “Getting another week of practice in, getting mental reps, physical reps taking every day this past week. Taking every rep as a game rep. Continuing to work with receivers, O-line before and after practice, and just building that comfortability with everybody. It was a great way to come out this Sunday and get a win.”
Zappe also shared what helped his comfort level rise outside of getting extra reps in practice.
“I think the biggest thing, the transition is the way you prepare — the more you put into it,” Zappe said. “College you have school. You have all that other stuff, but now it's just straight ball. So that's what you do all day every day. I love it. I love playing football. I love learning football.
“To be a part of this organization and learn from these coaches and players, I think has really helped me continue to grow my game. I know there's a lot of things that I could continue to work on and continue to get better at, but I have a great team around me to help me out.”
There was certainly a lot that Zappe should be thankful for with the team around him. Jakobi Meyers made his return after missing the last two games and provided Zappe with safety valve, catching seven passes for 111 yards with a touchdown. Zappe was appreciative to have the Patriots' leading receiver since 2020 back on the field for his first NFL start.
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“It's nice to have Kobs back out there,” Zappe said. “He has been in the league for a few years, so to have that veteran mentality back in the group is amazing. We know we have an all-around really good receiving group. Really the only job for us quarterbacks is to get those guys the ball and let them do what they do.”
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There was also Rhamondre Stevenson, who rushed for a career-high 161 yards on Sunday, and the Patriots' offensive line, which didn't allow a sack.
Zappe was appreciative of them all.
“They played amazing today,” Zappe said of the offensive line. “To be honest with you, all five of those guys — actually six, including Marcus Cannon, were the MVPs of today. We ran the ball well. For the offense, MVP, they ran the ball well, play action well, kept me clean in the pocket. Like you said, we were able to go through second, third reads, get to your check-down. They played really well today. To be able to have those guys up front is amazing to have that.”
Even though he had a bunch of help on Sunday, it's hard not to be impressed with Bailey Zappe's performance considering he's a fourth-round rookie that has been thrown into a huge spot so early in his career.
Yet, he's taking it all in stride.
“It's kind of like I've always been told: Take advantage of your opportunity,” Zappe shared. “We had an opportunity today as a team to go out there and get a win, and we played really well, played team football. Defense played well. Offense played well. Special teams played well. To be able to play like that as a team, it was amazing to get the win.”
