Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ win over the Broncos in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Ryland redemption: After missing a 47-yard field goal and an extra point to compound his rookie season woes, Chad Ryland had a measure of redemption when he made a 56-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to lift the Patriots to their second win in three weeks.
"Big kick," Bill Belichick said. "I think our team showed a lot of mental toughness."
Dud turns into a thriller: The game was a brutal slog for the first half as both teams combined for 10 points as the Broncos held a 7-3 lead as the teams combined to go 2 of 10 on third down (1 of 6 for the Patriots). The Patriots averaged 3.9 yards per play in the first half and Zappe had thrown for 92 yards and was sacked twice (two sacks, fumble).
In the second half, both teams combined for 39 points. The Patriots had 20 points in the third quarter, including seven that were gifted by Marvin Mims, who twice muffed a kick off and Cody Davis recovered for a touchdown. The Broncos ralled in the fourth with two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to tie the game.
"Well, that was a wild game," said Belichick. "We got to a rough start but we battled back. Defense played great in the first and third quarters. Russ brought them back. Made some key plays ... made the ones we had to make. Really happy for the hard work our coaches and players put in."
Zappe connects on big plays: Bailey Zappe finished 25 of 33 (75.8 percent) for 256 yards and two touchdowns and there was some inconsistency, especially in the first half. But the theme of the game was big plays. Zappe had five pass plays of at least 20 yards: 20 to Pharoah Brown, 27 to Devante Parker on 3rd and 3 to set the stage for the field goal, 28 to Jalen Reagor, 30 to Parker and 41 to Demario Douglas. That's a pretty good performance, especially with an uneven line and being without Hunter Henry and Juju Smith-Schuster.
"I'm on cloud nine," an elated Zappe told reporters after the game. "To see guys like that go up and make that play like Devante did. That just builds more confidence not only for me, but also in my connection with him. I fully believe no matter what, whoever's out there covering any of my guys that are out there, press coverage, anything ... if I put the ball up there, I know it's either gonna be incomplete or we're gonna come down with it. ... So it's fun."
Patriots drop to 4th in draft standings: With the victory, the Patriots fell from the second overall draft pick to fourth by virtue of losses by the Cardinals and Commanders.
TURNING POINT
Payton's decision to use two timeouts with under a minute left.
It sure looked like Belichick was content to go to overtime when he had Bill O'Brien hand off to Ezekiel Elliott. Didn't understand the first timeout after 6 yards on first down. The second one, after a 1-yard gain, I could understand ... maybe.
SECOND GUESS
Belichick again passed up a 4th down when he punted on 4th and 2 from the NE 47 trailing 7-3 in the second quarter.
THREE UP
Christian Barmore: Continued with his dominating run of play with a career-high 3 sacks for 26 yards lost, a forced fumble and five solo tackles.
Bailey Zappe: Made big plays when the team needed them.
Receivers: They've been down numbers and taking a good beating for much of the year, but Douglas, Parker and Reagor combined to catch 11 of 15 targets for 172 yards.
THREE DOWN
Left guards: James Ferentz started the game and promptly got tossed aside, leading to a fumble on the first lay. Atonio Mafi played a lot and he had two penalties, and could have had at least one more. The Patriots averaged 2.5 yards on run by running backs.
Chad Ryland: Obviously redeemed himself in the end, but he missed another field goal and an extra point. He is 15 of 23 this year on field goals. Not good enough for a guy the Patriots traded up for in the fourth round.
Sean Payton: Didn't take the field goal after the opening fumble. Gave the Patriots to win it in regulation by using two of his timeouts. Russell Wilson didn't find Jerry Jeudy until it was way too late, especially after losing Cortland Sutton early.
TOP PLAYS
INJURIES
Jonathan Jones (head): Returned to the game.
Jalen Mills (head): Did not return.
TWO TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Yeah, there's no tank going on: This will probably disappoint some people and ruin a few narratives I heard after losses to the Giants, Chargers and Chiefs, but if it wasn't clear before (there was nothing on film), Belichick and the Patriots have no interest in tanking and improving the draft position for the Patriots. And good for them. It's bad football juju when you start doing that stuff.
Don't go overboard on this: The Patriots have two games since Zappe took over as the starter: against the godawful Mitch Trubisky, and a Broncos team that is not good at all and won't be in the postseason. Please save your big QB takeaways for somebody else, namely Felger. Has Zappe played well for the most part? Yes and no. He was half bad again - the first half was not good. Is he better than Mac Jones at this point? No question ... been that way for weeks. That's about as far as I'll go with it.
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