New England Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe nearly did the unthinkable in beating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in his first ever NFL start.
It came down to the Packers defense stopping Zappe in overtime with Rodgers marching the ball downfield for veteran kicker Mason Crosby to knock the game-winner through the uprights.
There was obviously no reason for Zappe to hang his head considering he made some positive plays, while taking care of the football and avoiding the same backbreaking turnovers that have lost games for the Patriots this season.
He shared a few words with Rodgers, who is widely considered as one of the best quarterbacks to ever do it.
“He just said, ‘Good luck the rest of the way.’ And I said the same thing for him. He said, ‘Congrats on playing for the first time,’” said Zappe, via NFL’s Mike Reiss.
“He just said ‘good luck the rest of the way’ and I said the same thing for him. He said ‘congrats on playing for the first time.’” — Patriots rookie QB Bailey Zappe on his post-game meeting with Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/Hmgk2ExBqo
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 3, 2022
Zappe showed some guts in his ability to weather the storm and actually fight back against an NFC opponent that looks playoff-bound. A player as great as Rodgers can respect that.
We’ll see if the Patriots decide to hand over the reins to the rookie until Mac Jones is healthy enough to return.
