FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Pop an ibuprofen and kick back.
The temperature on Zappe Fever is only rising.
Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe leveled up over another impressive start during a 38-15 win at Cleveland on Sunday. Zappe completed 24 of 34 passes for 309 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Tyquan Thornton and a 31-yarder to tight end Hunter Henry. Thanks to three turnovers, the Pats led for the entire second half, burying Browns quarterback and old friend Jacoby Brissett, who finished 21-of-45 for 266 yards yards, one touchdown and two picks.
The Patriots (3-3) also reached the .500 mark for the first time since Week 2, but no thanks to their vaunted rushing attack. The Browns, who owned the NFL’s worst run defense at kickoff, limited their guests to 3.9 yards per carry. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 76 yards and two touchdowns, including one that broke a tie late in the second quarter.
Without Stevenson barreling through open rush lanes, the Pats’ Plan B proved to be Zappe, who led them to their highest scoring total in 11 months. He completed passes to eight different receivers, with DeVante Parker, Jakobi Meyers, Jonnu Smith and Henry all topping 60 yards.
But initially the Patriots were determined to bully the Browns (2-4) and deployed a sixth offensive lineman on half of the snaps on their opening possession. Cleveland’s defense relented until it was backed up to its 1-yard line, where back-to-back run stuffs of Stevenson preceded an incomplete play-action pass on third down. Nick Folk then kicked a 19-yard field goal to hoist the Pats to a 3-0 lead.
Learning from their own opening drive, when Kyle Dugger intercepted Brissett after two plays, the Browns returned to their run-first roots and marched to an answering 39-yard field goal. The tie held through a trade of turnovers, with Cleveland pass rusher Myles Garrett strip-sacking Zappe and Brissett running into a brick wall on a fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak in the second quarter. After two ensuing punts, the Patriots took over deep inside their own territory, where Zappe found Meyers and Parker for long gains that vaulted them across midfield.
But back-to-back incompletions suddenly had the Pats stalling on the edge of field goal range. There, on third-and-10, offensive play-caller Matt Patricia finally cracked the Browns’ defense with a changeup fit for October baseball. Patricia called a draw up the middle, which Stevenson raced through Cleveland’s pass rush and bounced left into open space for a 31-yard touchdown he celebrated by blowing kisses to the crowd.
Stevenson’s run was the Patriots’ first from a shotgun formation all game. All Brissett and Co. could muster was another field goal from 48 yards out with seconds left before halftime.
Leading 10-6, Zappe and the Patriots broke from the locker room and resumed marching at will. Zappe found Jonnu Smith up the left seam for a 53-yard catch-and-run, then tossed over the Browns’ goal-line defense with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Thornton. The kid was cruising.
Two possessions later, Patricia dialed up another third-down beauty with Zappe under center and the Patriots packed into another set with six offensive linemen on third-and-1. Instead of handing the ball off, Zappe whipped a play fake that sucked in the entire city of Cleveland and sprung Henry free for an untouched, 31-yard touchdown catch.
The Patriots carried a 24-6 lead into the final quarter, when the Browns tacked on another field goal and Brissett tossed a late touchdown pass to Amari Cooper. After failing on a 2-point conversion try, the Browns’ successful onside kick was overturned once it was discovered cornerback A.J. Green had illegally touched the ball while out of bounds.
Bad news quickly grew worse for Cleveland, which allowed rushing touchdowns to Thornton on a jet sweep and then Stevenson around a strip sack of Brissett.
Here were the best and worst Patriot performances from Sunday:
Best
QB Bailey Zappe: Who saw this coming? The rookie played a tremendous game and didn’t turn the ball over once.
Pass defense: The Patriots sacked Brissett four times and held his No. 1 receiver, Amari Cooper to four catches on 12 targets. Kyle Dugger and Jalen Mills both had picks.
Worst
OT Isaiah Wynn: He allowed a strip sack, false-started and got benched in the first half before rotating back in later.
Penalties: The Patriots totaled a dozen flags, most of them pre-snap.
