— New England Patriots rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe has made the most of the opportunity to get his name out there.
And people are learning how to say it now, too.
A little known fourth-round draft pick who played at Conference USA school Western Kentucky, Zappe — pronounced ZAPP-ee — was pushed into action two weeks ago when starter Mac Jones and veteran backup Brian Hoyer went out with injuries. He now has now won two games in as many starts.
On Sunday, he threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots buried the Cleveland Browns 38-15. It was the 324th career win for coach Bill Belichick, who tied George Halas for second on the NFL’s career list.
“We’re just playing football,” the 23-year-old Zappe said. “It’s what we’ve been playing since we were 5 years old, so it’s fun to play with these guys.”
Zappe, starting for the second consecutive week, threw second-half TD passes to Tyquan Thornton and Hunter Henry as the Patriots pulled away from the anemic Browns.
Cleveland’s Nick Chubb, who entered leading the NFL in rushing, didn’t have a double-digit gain until late in the third quarter. He had 23 yards rushing and 14 receiving on that drive, but again the Browns stalled — and York came on for a 51-yard field goal.
Chubb finished with 12 carries for 56 yards, both season lows.
Brissett, who finished 21 for 45 for 266 yards with two interceptions, threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Amari Cooper in the fourth quarter but a 2-point attempt failed, leaving it a two-score game with 6:22 left.
appe finished 24 of 34 passing a week after throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown in his first start, a 29-0 win over Detroit.