Bailey Zappe arguably had the worst performance of his two-year career in the New England Patriots' 27-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
The quarterback threw three interceptions over the Patriots' first six drives of the game, a stretch that also included a lost fumble for New England as Zappe's third interception was returned for a touchdown.
The pick-six from Douglas was actually the second time that Zappe threw a completed pass to the Bills cornerback. Douglas' first interception on Zappe came on the quarterback's second pass of the game, jumping on DeVante Parker's route to snatch the ball.
Zappe expressed regret over the play, telling reporters that Demario Douglas was actually open. But as he shared that regret, he also displayed confidence moving forward.
“I just gotta do what I’m coached to do and throw the little swing pass that we had going,” Zappe said. “It’s just as simple as that. I mean, if I do that, who knows what happens? It’s a 10-yard gain, 15-yard gain. You’re getting the ball in [Douglas’] hands — I mean, it’s never a bad thing.
“It's just things that I gotta fix. And over the course of my career, trust me, I'll get better at that.”
Bailey Zappe brushes turnovers from Patriots' loss to Bills aside
The Patriots quarterback seemed to be in control following his pick-six to Douglas. He didn't commit a turnover for the rest of the game, finishing the day by completing 16 of 26 passes for 209 yards. On the drive after the pick-six, Zappe actually ran for a 17-yard touchdown.
As the Patriots hung around in Sunday's game despite the disastrous start on offense, Zappe explained how he moved on from the early miscues.
“It’s hard, but in that moment of time, you’re kind of like, ‘hey, we’ve got a long way to go. Got a lot more drives, got a lot more opportunities. Go down there and score.’ Kind of flush it and kind of forget about it,” Zappe shared.
“It's football. Things like that are going to happen. You’re going to have turnovers. You’re going to throw three interceptions in a game. But it’s just how you respond. It’s how you come back in that next series and how you play. I felt like we did great as an offense in the second half coming back. We kind of flushed everything and we came out together and played a great second half. It just wasn’t enough because of what we did in the first half.”
Zappe has one last chance to prove himself as a potential starting quarterback for next season. The Patriots close out the season against the New York Jets at home in Week 18.
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