What Bill Belichick Liked About Bailey Zappe’s Patriots Starts

Even after Bailey Zappe’s strong showing in Pittsburgh, Bill Belichick still wasn’t willing to publicly announce the Patriots’ starting quarterback.

The head coach would not say during his weekly interview with WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” whether Zappe will start this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium.

“I’m not announcing,” Belichick said Monday morning. “I’m not announcing who’s doing what. I’m not doing that.”

Zappe unseated Mac Jones as New England’s starter two weeks ago. The second-pro couldn’t muster any points in his first 2023 start (a 6-0 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers) but impressed in his second, throwing for 240 yards and three first-half touchdowns last Thursday in a 21-18 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Though Zappe’s effectiveness dipped after halftime — he threw an interception late in the third quarter, and the Patriots were shut out in the second half — Belichick praised the 24-year-old’s composure and ball security.

“Bailey’s been pretty consistent,” the coach said. “For the most part, he’s done a good job of taking care of the ball at the quarterback position. We haven’t had a lot of negative plays, turnovers and just negative plays, penalties that are related to the quarterback position, like delay of game, things like that. He’s done a good job of managing the team and taking care of the ball.

“There’s always plays that players and coaches can do a little better when you look back over the game. But again, everybody who plays in the game feels that way. Bailey works hard, tries to correct his mistakes, tries to learn each week and learn each day. So I’m sure he’ll continue to do that. But good preparation and attention to details certainly puts him on the right path to better performance in the games. That’s what we’re all here for.”

Asked why the Patriots waited until Week 12 to start Zappe, Belichick replied: “Bailey played earlier in the year. He played in preseason — played a lot in preseason. But, like I said, we made the decision when we thought it was the right time to make it.”

Belichick previously said the Patriots wanted to give Jones, who was benched in four games this season, a chance to work through his struggles. When those problems persisted, they turned to Zappe, who did not perform well in the preseason or in his relief appearances. Belichick was asked whether the two QBs would split first-team reps during the leadup to Sunday’s matchup with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

“We’ll talk about that,” Belichick said. “We don’t practice until Wednesday, so we’ll talk about that over the next couple of days, how we’ll do that. We’ll try to make sure everybody’s ready to go, and hopefully everybody will be ready to go.”

The Patriots, who snapped a five-game losing streak last week, enter the Week 15 matchup with a 3-10 record. The defending champion Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday to fall to 8-5 on the season.