In the New England Patriots’ Week 14 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, quarterback Bailey Zappe overcame some second-half mishaps to lead his team to a 21-18 victory with three outstanding touchdown drives.

Zappe had a cool assurance throughout the game that obviously impressed his head coach as well as his teammates.

In fact, Bill Belichick commended Zappe for his stability since assuming the reins from incumbent starter Mac Jones just two weeks prior during his interview on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on Monday.
Belichick remarked, “Bailey’s been pretty consistent.” He’s done an excellent job handling the ball as quarterback for the most part. We haven’t seen many bad plays, turnovers, or penalties of any kind pertaining to the quarterback position, such as delay of game or similar infractions. He has done an excellent job of leading the team and looking after the ball.

Even though he had just five days prior to Week 14 to recover from a 6-0 shutout defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers, the 24-year-old showed notable progress in both his decision-making and reading abilities. With eight plays, he drove the Pats 75 yards to start the game, and he finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass in the flat to Ezekeil Elliott, the running back. Zappe found team captain Hunter Henry for two second-quarter scores, good for eight and twenty-four yards, respectively, to finish up his opening drive effort. In addition to surpassing his previous career best in touchdown passes, he made history by being the first Patriots player to score three touchdowns in the first half since Tom Brady did so in the team’s December 2018 game against the New York Jets.