FOXBOROUGH - What, did you think this Patriots team was about to go on a heater? Not now. Not this season. It's over. It's been over. And it will remain over until they get better players.
Today against the Chiefs was an all too familiar blueprint. Be relatively competitive, making you think there's a chance, and then a killer turnover from the quarterback - in this case, Bailey Zappe and not Mac Jones - disabuses that notion quickly. Zappe had been, up until that moment, cooking with gas, or at least a good electric burner, but then made as ill-advised a throw as any we've seen in a season full of them, directing the ball right at Willie Gay. The problem is Gay plays for the Chiefs. And if Gay didn't catch it, at least two other KC defenders had a chance.
"I saw him," said Zappe of the Chiefs linebacker. "That's just a miscommunication on our part. I thought he (Pharoah Brown) was going to keep going. He felt Gay was on the back of his hip, so he was going to keep it vertical. That's on me. I was able to make a guy miss (on the scramble). I just need to throw it out of bounds. It's first down. Just need to throw it out of bounds. Second down and 10, who knows what happens on that drive? We were able to move the ball all day up to that point. I gotta be smarter. I gotta be better."
Of the number of issues plaguing the Patriots, quarterback play - and the communication with the pass catchers - has been near the top of the list. It did appear Brown screwed up his route, but to Zappe's point, throwing it in that window at that time of the game was nonsensical. That's, in part, what got Jones benched. Zappe should avoid that fate, but all that he and the Pats had built offensively up to that moment vanished, not to be seen the remainder of the game. Considering that the interception came with a little over 10 minutes left in the third quarter, that's saying something, but the line of delineation is stark.
Zappe was 17 of 19 for 141 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He was in rhythm and making good decisions and accurate throws. His pocket movement was effective, and he was sacked just twice. But that turnover sent the second-year signal caller down a dark road of despair: Zappe was just 6 of 14 in the second half for 39 yards, took two more sacks, and should have thrown another interception to start the 4th quarter. He also got absolutely drilled on the play. Later, as I followed him into the press conference, the 24-year-old was moving slowly and stiffly.
"I think you're going to look back at the film tomorrow, and there's going to be a lot of things that maybe if I just do this a little different, maybe it's a bigger play. Instead of throwing in one way, maybe hit Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott) in the flat, and maybe he gets 10 to 15 yards," Zappe said. "The second play of the second half - or first play (it was the first play) - I throw it out of bounds or scramble and get five yards. It's not an interception. They don't get the ball on the five-yard line. They don't score a touchdown. Just things like that directly reflect on me because it's my fault. I just gotta get better at it."
Zappe felt that he and the offense were well-prepared for the adjustments the Chiefs made after halftime however, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo got him. He took a critical sack down 24-10 midway through the third quarter, never seeing blitzing corner Jaylen Watson. That came after defensive lineman Mike Danna nearly intercepted Zappe's second down throw at midfield.
"They got me on that one. That was something we watched on film all week to be ready for, and it was something I missed. Sent the mike (middle linebacker) the wrong way. I gotta 'mike' it backside. They adjusted. We adjusted. I just didn't execute our adjustments."
This happened to the Patriots in their last game two Thursdays ago in Pittsburgh. Once the Steelers shifted to more man-to-man in the second half, Zappe and the offense wilted, eventually going into a shell to protect a lead. On this day, the lead was long gone, and it hammered home why they've been the most punchless unit in the league. They don't have any game-breakers, and as injuries mounted - Cole Strange, Conor McDermott, and Hunter Henry - Bill Belichick had Bill O'Brien operate slowly and conservatively.
That lack of urgency showed late in the third quarter, even with the offense being about as useful as a teat on a bull, allowing the clock to zero out after a 7-yard gain to Elliott. Two plays later, after Henry's catch was ruled not a catch, Belichick punted from his 42-yard line despite being down by 17 points. With possessions no doubt dwindling, the entire sequence seemed like a wave of the white flag, similar to the second-half punt against the Saints back in week five.
Belichick would instruct his special teams to return to the field later in the fourth, kicking on a fourth-and-four from their own 33. Now, there were a little over nine minutes to play. Say what?
After the game, Elliott told us he was surprised the offense wasn't operating faster. Still, Belichick had a litany of excuses during his press conference, once citing the injuries, then later, when asked about the decision to punt from the 42, said, "It's not a question of not wanting to go for it. It's a question of doing what you feel is best at that point in time." Later, he added, "There's a lot that goes into a decision. It's not one thing."
It's definitely not been just one thing with this football team. Still, the offense's inability to carry their end of the bargain has led to frustration amongst defenders in the locker room and an odd disconnect between units that we haven't seen inside these walls since the dysfunction of the 2009-10 team, which only won 10 games. This group could only dream of such a finish.