3 overreactions to the Patriots unexpected win over the Steelers in Week 14

Overreaction #3: Bailey Zappe is the QB1!

There's no denying that Bailey Zappe played a tremendous first half for the Patriots and was a significant reason they were able to leave Pittsburgh with the win. However, all that momentum happened and ultimately left the offense after halftime, ending the game with five punts and an interception.

The very motivated defense essentially saved the game by stopping the Steelers' offense twice on fourth down and forcing three punts. It could have gotten really ugly really fast had they had a much worse performance, even with Mitch Trubisky as the starting quarterback.

It was undoubtedly a better quarterback performance from Zappe than just one week ago since he wasn't even able to get the team within field goal range and barely completed 50% of his passes. He could fare even better with a healthier offense once Kayshon Boutte, Demario Douglas, and DeVante Parker return to the lineup, which is a positive sign for the final stretch of the season.

But with all that said, we can't forget about his not-so-great performances from last season when he was the starter in Mac Jones's absence, along with what we saw from the quarterback last week against a very beatable Chargers team.

On top of that, Zappe was cut from the team this summer, brought back to the practice squad, and didn't look better in practice than Jones until Bill Belichick had no choice but to bench the third-year starter.

Recency bias shouldn't cloud your judgment regarding Zappe's potential with the team. He could play well over the next four weeks and prove that he could be a decent quarterback for the time being. Or he could continue showing what we've seen up to this point, and the Patriots will still need a quarterback for the future. But believing Zappe has or will become the QB1 in New England based on this win is just pure silliness.

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