We are living in a Bailey Zappe world, and Taylor Swift will just have to come to terms with that eventually. That is the hope anyway, right? The New England Patriots need someone to step up and take command of the QB1 spot, and why shouldn't that be Zappe? He's not truly yet proven he cannot do that job.
There is also a decent chance that Patriots fans and lots of Swifties will get to see Taylor Swift at the game. She is on break from her Eras tour, her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, is a great tight end for New England's opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, and Swift seemingly loves to fly around and show up at Kelce's games. Maybe, if we are really lucky, we might even catch a conversation between Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Taylor Swift. Wouldn't that be fun?
I only bring up Swift so much because everybody and Billie Eilish's brother are being asked about the potential of New England taking on Swifties and the Chiefs. This includes, of course, Bailey Zappe, who was asked on WEEI's "Jones and Mego" show this week about whether he is a Taylor Swift fan. While some media outlets have said Zappe danced around the question, that doesn't appear to be the truth.
Bold guesses for the New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15
In fact, Zappe was pretty candid about the megastar. "I’m not like not a fan; I just don’t listen to that music," Zappe said. Instead, the Western Kentucky quarterback said he prefers country music. (Maybe Zappe is still too young to remember Swift started in country music.)
But Week 15 is not about Swift, and instead is rightfully about Zappe's Patriots and Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs. So what will happen when the teams play? Here are three bold guesses.
Prediction No. 1 - Limiting Patrick Mahomes
The Kansas City Chiefs are struggling right now. They have lost three of four and, even early in the season when they were winning a bunch of games, they were doing so more because of their defense than their offense. Maybe the Chiefs receivers just are not that scary, or it is possible that KC misses former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy more than they thought they would.
My point in the above is that if the Patriots are going to win, the game needs to be a defensive struggle. And I do not mean something like 21-18; I am talking 10-7. And New England is capable of making the game so.
New England is fourth in yards-allowed-per-play (4.8) and a not-bad 14th in quarterback rating allowed (88.2). Except for a game of random games (both losses and in Weeks 11 and 13), since Week 4, the Chiefs have had no run for 100 yards. They must have a very good Patrick Mahomes to win, and Mahomes himself has been a bit off lately. Over the Chiefs' last six games, Mahomes has thrown eight touchdown passes but five interceptions.
I think New England finds a way to limit Mahomes, and no coach should know better about how to defend a great tight end, such as Travis Kelce, than Belichick. Mahomes will complete about 60 percent of his 37 passes for a bit over 200 yards and just one score. The Patriots will also intercept him once.
Prediction No. 2 - Bailey Zappe is efficient once again
The question about any NFL quarterback is not whether they can be good for a game or three but consistently good for the majority of their games. Clearly, Patrick Mahomes has been excellent for most of his career, so even though he is struggling a bit this year, we all expect him to bounce back to his usual self at any moment. Let's just hope that doesn't happen in Week 15.
Zappe was Mahomes-like in the first half of Week 14 when the Patriots put up 21 points against a good Pittsburgh Steelers defense - mind you, they were missing a couple of key players - and Zappe had three touchdown tosses. He also wasn't intercepted, and the turnovers have killed the Patriots this season. For instance, Mac Jones had ten touchdown passes, but he had 12 picks.
But then the second half started, and Zappe and the Patriots offense remembered who they were and ended up punting every drive except for the one that ended in a Zappe interception. Overall, his numbers were good enough to win many football games; however, he was 19 of 28 for 240 yards and had a quarterback rating of 115.2.
I also think that Zappe gained a lot of confidence from the first half of Week 14. While the Chiefs do have a good pass defense, they do not get interceptions. They have the same number as the Patriots (7), which is tied for 23rd place in the NFL. I don't think Zappe gets 3 more touchdowns, but I also don't think he throws an interception and keeps the Patriots close enough to be dangerous.
What happens between the Patriots and Chiefs in Week 15?
Without a doubt, Taylor Swift will have her chance to cheer in Week 15. (I am just going to go ahead and assume she will be at the game; maybe that should be one of my bold predictions.) Travis Kelce will not be shut out, and he will make some splash plays. Kelce is no longer as speedy as he once was, but he is a smart player who will find holes in the Patriots' defense.
But Swift will also have her moments of being dejected. New England will run the ball with Ezekiel Elliott quite a bit and try to make the clock New England's friend. The Chiefs are just 26th in the league in yards allowed per rush (4.6), so while New England's offensive line isn't great, Elliott should be a wily enough veteran to pick and choose his moments against Kansas City.
This game won't be about being explosive for New England but limiting explosiveness on both sides of the ball. Sure, an 80-yard touchdown pass or run would be great, but better would be 10-play drives that result in some points either way for the Patriots. And making the Chiefs earn every yard is critical.
The Patriots are 3-10 and looking ahead to the offseason and the 2024 NFL Draft. Kansas City is fighting for the postseason and is really angry after what happened at the end of the Buffalo Bills game in Week 14 when Mahomes blew a fuse after an offsides penalty was called that ended any chance of the Chiefs winning. But I think in front of Taylor Swift, the Patriots pull off a minor miracle, and Zappe gets his second win in a row, 13-10.