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Patriots-Broncos Report Card: Zappe, Barmore stand out in upset win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Give the Patriots players credit. Amid continued discussion of a potential top-five pick in next year’s draft and speculation about the future of their head coach, they continue to play hard.
For the second time in three weeks, their efforts paid off in the form of an upset win in primetime, in this instance a 26-23 victory on the road on Christmas Eve against a Denver Broncos team fighting for a playoff spot.
The Patriots aren’t going anywhere at 4-11. Changes still could be in store this offseason. But a handful of players are still making their case to be part of the solution going forward.
Let’s hand out grades in this week’s Patriots-Broncos Report Card…
Quarterback: A-
Would be hard to watch Bailey Zappe on Christmas Eve and not feel as though he can be a part of the future for the Patriots offense.
How large a part of the Patriots offense is certainly debatable. But after he went 9-for-13 for 115 yards and a touchdown under pressure? After he went 5-for-5 for 137 yards and a touchdown on passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air?
He looked like a more-than-capable NFL backup, which is saying something after he was released at the end of training camp. An early-game fumble prevented this grade from climbing even higher.
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Running back: B-
There just wasn’t much available to this group in the running game on Sunday. (We’ll get to the offensive line’s role in the grind-it-out nature of their ground game in a bit.) Ezekiel Elliott managed just 2.3 yards per carry, while Kevin Harris picked up 3.0 yards per attempt.
Helping this grade, however, is the work of the backs after contact. Elliott had more yards post-contact (28) than he did total rushing yards (27). Harris accumulated 17 yards after contact on his 21 total rush yards.
Elliott had…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-broncos-report-card-zappe-035435266.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2023-12-27 03:54:35
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