Zappe-Mania is back on the menu.
The New England Patriots were perceived as an easy bounce-back win for a snarling Pittsburgh Steelers team coming off an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Yet, Acrisure Stadium and thousands of Steelers’ faithful, played witness to quarterback Bailey Zappe rising to the occasion and helping end a five-game losing streak for the Patriots.
The team was riding a greater high than it has all season after the offense put 21 points on the board in the first half. Zappe carved away at the Steelers defense with 196 passing yards and three touchdowns. Running back Ezekiel Elliott stepped up admirably in the absence of Rhamondre Stevenson, and when the team needed it most, JuJu Smith-Schuster finally came alive for his biggest game of the season.
It was a jaw-dropping performance from a banged-up Patriots offense that some deemed laughable on paper. Of course, there’s always hope when a team has a dominant defense, and the Patriots’ unit didn’t miss a beat against the Mitch Trubisky-led Steelers on Thursday.
The unit especially stepped up in the second half when the offense went cold, but by that time, they had done enough damage to hold off the Steelers for their third win of the season.
Believe it or not, some might be disheartened by the victory, as it could potentially hurt the Patriots’ positioning in the 2024 NFL draft. But at the same time, it’s hard not to celebrate a big win for a team that desperately needed it.
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