The New England Patriots lost once again on Sunday, falling 6-0 to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13 as they dropped to 2-10 on the season after Week 13. Here are the four most Patriots to blame after Sunday's ugly showing, including quarterback Bailey Zappe and head coach Bill Belichick.

Bailey Zappe

Bailey Zappe in Patriots jersey with football

It turns out Bailey Zappe is a backup quarterback for a reason.

The second-year gunslinger didn't do much to impress on Sunday or make anyone say “Why didn't they bench Mac Jones sooner?” Sure, he didn't turn the ball over, but he only completed 13 of 25 passes for 141 yards. Most importantly, he didn't lead the team to any points.

Sure, the offense Zappe had to operate with on Sunday was just as horrific, if not worse, than what Jones has had to deal with this season. Receivers were dropping balls and offensive linemen left a lot to be desired.

But it's hard to place so much blame on the players around you when you miss some passes and should've thrown at least one — if not tw0 — interceptions for throwing a ball behind your receivers. It's even harder to place on others when you take five sacks in one half, with four of them occurring on consecutive plays. The first string of consecutive sacks knocked the Patriots out of field goal range while the second led to turnover on downs.

So yeah, it's understandable why this guy was passed on by every team just a few months ago. He's not very good!

The entire offensive line

What a miserable performance that perfectly suited the lousy weather conditions in Foxborough on Sunday.

Did you enjoy the sack that Trent Brown gave up when he let Justin Hollins speed rush right by him? Or the several times that Khalil Mack found his way into the Patriots' backfield en route to two sacks?

The offensive line didn't even do the one thing it's done well as of late right: run block. Rhamondre Stevenson had to fight for yards before he left Sunday's game with an ankle injury while Ezekiel Elliott only had 52 yards on 17 carries. One of those carries was a six-yard loss on a third-and-2 play in the second quarter where the entire line got blown up.

Tyquan Thornton and most of the receiving corps

The 2022 second-round pick added to his growing list of disappointing plays on Sunday.

Late in the third quarter, Thornton sped right by the Chargers' secondary, getting wide open for a pass down the field that looked like was going to be a big gain. But, once again, he failed to deliver, dropping the catchable ball from Zappe, leading to another Patriots punt shortly later.

Later, when Thornton made a big play on a reverse, DeVante Parker let go of his block early and decided to watch the play unfold rather than block downfield.

Finally, Parker was able to make a rare contested grab down the field that would've put the Patriots well into Chargers' territory. But he had a foot out of bounds, negating the catch as New England came up empty.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Drake with beanie that has New England Patriots logo

Rexwell Villas ·

New England Patriots, Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Brian Buyawe ·

Drake Maye with Patriots gear, Robert Kraft.

Ryan Bologna ·

The entire offensive coaching staff

How is that that your defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in each of the last three games and you have zero wins to show for it?

That's how horrible the offense is right now. No one is exempt from blame here.

Bill O'Brien's re-hiring as offensive coordinator ended up just being mediocre ointment treatment for the NFL's version of a teenager with a horrendous acne problem. Maybe he's a good offensive coordinator and the talent is just so bad in New England that he can't show his skills, but the results certainly don't show it. And it's hard to argue that he's been good this season when he insisted on throwing screens to Parker on multiple occasions on Sunday.

But, let's be real, Sunday was just another showcase of the disaster class in building an offense by Bill Belichick over the last few years. Since Jones was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, they haven't added any offensive players worth a damn. The receivers are getting worse by the week. Their offensive line is wretched. Their quarterbacks are mentally ruined, suck, or both.

On the bright side, there are only five more games left of this! On the downside, there are still five games left of this.