After Jimmy Garoppolo was taken out of the game with an eventual sprained AC joint on September 18th, rookie Jacoby Brissett took over for the remainder of that game versus Miami and played very well. The Pats pulled off their second W of the season at home, feeling good about themselves. Yeah, Julian Edelman is virtually the backup QB going into the next game versus Houston, but they’ll still have a shot at winning it, right? The answer is a big, fat yes.
Brissett made his first career start in the NFL, the second New England quarterback to make their first starts in three weeks. Overall, Brissett looked decent. He wasn’t anything spectacular, but he certainly wasn’t bad, either. He played good enough to get the job done, and in the end, that’s all that matters. His totals for the night were: 11-19, 103 yards, 8 rushes for 48 yards, and a rating of 72.9. Keep in mind, Gronk only played 14 snaps and had no receptions. The numbers are pretty meh when you look at them, but when he’s the rookie QB of the team who won 27-0 you’ll take that any day of the week. Brissett’s highlight of the night was his flashy 27-yard touchdown run. Houston blitzed on this play and New England ran an option, completely fooling Bill O’Brien’s Texans. Brissett escaped the pocket and turned the wheels on, never slowing down. Not a bad night for a rookie who had four days to prepare for his first NFL start in place of practically both Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo, without arguably the greatest tight end of all time.
Patriots fans are coming out of this game pretty confident. The offensive line looks great and took great care of the rookie under center. The defense did their job and more. We’ve got something in Brissett. Week five is just around the corner. All you can do is smile. Friday afternoon, reports leak out about an apparent Jacoby Brissett injury. Of course, right? There are three reports from Mike Petraglia, Ian Rapoport, and Diana Russini & Adam Schefter:
As you can tell, these reports are all over the place. Brissett either needs surgery & New England needs to sign a free agent QB, or he’s totally fine and there’s not much to worry about. The fun of modern day journalism.
This one is all about which reporter you trust more or most. Nonetheless, come next Sunday, Garoppolo should be ready to play, according to Adam Schefter. Schefter says it’s a ‘long shot’ as of right now, but arrows are pointing upwards. There’s still over a week to go until then. Garoppolo will have had about two weeks to ice up, rest, recover, see trainers and doctors, etc. Sorry, Edelman lovers, you probably won’t get to see Jules hand it off every snap next week. If all goes well, both Jimmy G and Jacoby B will dress and it’s up to Bill whom he wants to start.
At worst, the Patriots go 3-1 during the Brady suspension. Don’t expect that to happen, though. New England is facing the Ryan brothers and Buffalo at Gillette, so I won’t lose too much sleep over that one. Keep your heads up, Pats Nation. The skies are blue, the sun is shining, we’re down to the final week without Tom Brady, and the team looks damn good all-around. This is only the beginning of another season to the fifteen-year-and-counting dynasty.
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