Patriots Players Weren’t Crazy About This Aspect Of Week 13 Prep

Bill Belichick strayed from the norm a bit as the Patriots geared up for their Week 13 matchup with the Chargers.

Sunday’s game against Los Angeles will mark New England’s first tilt at home since its Nov. 5 showdown against the Washington Commanders. In an attempt to reacclimate his players to the playing surface, Belichick elected to hold Friday’s practice on the game field at Gillette Stadium.

As ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted in his Sunday morning column, that decision wasn’t met with much appreciation among players.

“One drawback to the decision for players: The synthetic grass surface is generally not preferred over the natural grass practice fields, with some players remarking late Friday that their bodies could feel the difference,” Reiss wrote.

As for the play on the field, we probably shouldn’t expect New England to showcase any sort of boost that could come with returning home. The Patriots have looked mostly terrible everywhere they’ve played this season, including Foxboro, the Meadowlands and Germany.

But who knows, maybe a change behind center will give the AFC’s worst team a bit of a jolt. Sophomore signal-caller Bailey Zappe is expected to make his first start since Week 6 of last season while Mac Jones watches from the bench.