The New England Patriots have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, and rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe has played a huge role in that success.
Zappe made his second career NFL start Sunday in the Patriots' Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 309 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions as New England cruised to a 38-15 victory. Zappe also became the first quarterback of the Super Bowl era to win his first two career starts with a QB rating of 100 or better in each of those games.
Julian Edelman congratulates Bill Belichick on milestone victory
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Zappe showed tremendous composure in the pocket. He also did a good job spreading the ball around, evidenced by five Patriots players tallying four or more receptions. The question now is whether he will continue to be the starting quarterback when Mac Jones is healthy and ready to play.
Here's a roundup of reaction to Zappe's performance Sunday from Patriots teammates and head coach Bill Belichick.
Bill Belichick
New England Patriots
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On being impressed with QB Bailey Zappe’s intellect and if that is contributing to his success:
“Yeah, I mean again, he learns everyday, whether it’s practice, or meetings, or game experiences. He has pretty good instincts, but there is a lot for him to learn. There are things today that he learned from and he was able to take advantage of and make a couple plays. He had the opportunity. Again, it’s all performance. It’s not turning the ball over or a strip sack. It’s a good thing. We just had trouble obviously with (Browns DE) Myles Garrett. We tried to double him as much as we could and he still got us.”
David Andrews
On what he sees from Zappe:
"A lot of poise. A lot of composure. Had a lot of fun out there. I think he does a really good job for us and is doing what is asked of him."
Matthew Slater
On Zappe:
"Really proud of what he has done. You rewind a month ago, and nobody is talking about him being a contributor for our team. That is the National Football League, you never know when your moment is going to come. Your hope is that you prepare enough and are able to take advantage of it. I think that man is doing just that."
Jonnu Smith
On what he has seen in Zappe:
"He is making a ton of improvements, looks comfortable and settled down trying to figure it out. He knows he has a lot to improve on. For him to have that mindset, he has made a lot of strides in his game. Hats off to him these past couple weeks, coming in doing a helluva job. I couldn’t be more proud of him."
On what ways Zappe has exceeded his expectations:
"He is still a rookie so we won’t say Zappe is the G.O.A.T, but he definitely has impressed. He looks more comfortable."
Rhamondre Stevenson
On Zappe:
"He is a great player. He is doing his best out there. I think everybody can see that he is completing passes."