One of the longest running debates for quite some time has been whether Bill Belichick is or isn’t a good coach without Tom Brady and it would be fair to say that the ones against the motion have the odds in favor of them.
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Since Brady’s exit, the team from New England has been good but not good enough to lift the coveted title. To make matters even worse, the 2022 season is really turning out to be a painful one for Belichick and his unit.
The New England Patriots have been good in patches but overall, their inconsistent plays have really made them look bad against some of the stronger teams.
On Saturday night, when the Patriots stepped in to take on the last season’s Super Bowl runner ups Cincinnati Bengals, a riveting encounter was expected. However, it is turning out to be a one-sided affair.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bengals established a 16 point lead and expecting that Belichick’s boys might pull out a miracle from thin year would be a little too optimistic.
Patriots Fans Want Bailey Zappe Instead of Mac Jones
Right from the first minute when the game started, the focus was on New England QB Mac Jones who has been rather inconsistent this season. However, his bad run continued in this clash as well which prompted the Patriots fans to ask the coach to bring in Bailey Zappe.
Fans were chanting loudly that they want Zappe in place of Jones which is not a good sign for any team. By the end of the third quarter, Mac had 121 yards for zero TDs, while his counterpart Joe Burrow had 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for 324 yards by then.
While in the initial phase of the final quarter, Jones was able to get a TD, his unit still has a lot of deficit to overcome. The fact that by halftime, Belichick’s men weren’t able to score a single point tells a lot about the team’s confidence.
It is not very common to see teams getting a 22 point lead by halftime while opposition struggles to get something on the board. Clearly, this contest is going to raise a lot of questions for Belichick and of course, for Mac Jones who wasn’t a fan favorite during the clash.
The Patriots fans wanted Bailey Zappe to take the field for them, but coach Bill is persisting with Jones and it appears that this will prove to be a bad choice.
