The Cleveland Browns were the latest team to get “Zapped” by the New England Patriots and rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe, who now owns a 2-0 record as a starter to begin his NFL career.
The Patriots beat the Browns 38-15 in Cleveland due to a highly efficient performance from Zappe and a dominant effort from New England’s defense.
Offensive spotlight: Zappe went 24-of-34 for 309 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Based on PFF's first review, he got rid of the ball at an average 2.61-second clip. He didn’t make any big-time throws but also wasn’t marked with any turnover-worthy plays. The Patriots made effective use of play action, as Zappe went 6-of-7 for 144 yards and a touchdown with a play fake. Zappe was also penalized for delay of game and intentional grounding, so it wasn’t all positives from the rookie, but it was still an impressive display in just his second career start.
Defensive spotlight: Browns edge defender Myles Garrett was battling through injuries during the game but finished with two sacks, including a strip sack, and three hurries. He finished the game with a game-high 24-percent pass-rush win rate.
Rookie spotlight: Patriots rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton saw extended playing time with Nelson Agholor (hamstring) inactive and Kendrick Bourne (toe) banged up. He caught four passes for 37 yards with his first career receiving touchdown and also carried the ball twice for 17 yards with his first rushing touchdown. He forced one missed tackle as a receiver. New England has been impressed with Thornton in practice, and his development is showing on the game field.
Offensive line spotlight: Patriots right tackle Isaiah Wynn is having a rough go in a contract year. He moved from left to right tackle this offseason and was spelled by Marcus Cannon for a stretch in the third consecutive game after allowing a sack and hurry in addition to being charged with a false start.
There weren’t many positives for Cleveland in this game, but its offensive line only allowed 10 total pressures on first review. Browns right guard Wyatt Teller left the game with a calf injury and didn’t return, so that’s a situation to monitor.
Box Score
Passing
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Bailey Zappe | 22.36 | 24 / 34 | 309 | 9.1 | 2 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Jacoby Brissett | 11.64 | 21 / 45 | 266 | 5.9 | 1 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 25.1 | 19 | 76 | 4 | 2 | 31 |
| Bailey Zappe | 22.36 | 3 | -4 | -1.3 | 0 | -1 |
| Tyquan Thornton | 21.3 | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 1 | 19 |
| Pierre Strong Jr. | 0.5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Kevin Harris | 0.5 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 | 3 |
| Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Jacoby Brissett | 11.64 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 11.6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Nick Chubb | 8 | 12 | 56 | 4.7 | 0 | 18 |
| Kareem Hunt | 1.2 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Receiving
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 25.1 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Bailey Zappe | 22.36 | 1 | 1 | -6 | -6 | 0 |
| Tyquan Thornton | 21.3 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 7.4 | 1 |
| Hunter Henry | 16.1 | 7 | 4 | 61 | 8.7 | 1 |
| DeVante Parker | 10.4 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 10.7 | 0 |
| Jakobi Meyers P | 10 | 4 | 4 | 60 | 15 | 0 |
| Jonnu Smith P | 8.1 | 2 | 2 | 61 | 30.5 | 0 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 2.7 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Cleveland Browns | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Amari Cooper | 14.4 | 12 | 4 | 44 | 3.7 | 1 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | 11.6 | 5 | 4 | 74 | 14.8 | 0 |
| David Njoku | 8.8 | 6 | 3 | 58 | 9.7 | 0 |
| Nick Chubb | 8 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 |
| Harrison Bryant | 4.8 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 4.5 | 0 |
| Pharaoh Brown | 4.1 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| D'Ernest Johnson | 2.9 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 |
| Michael Woods II | 2.5 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 |
| David Bell | 2.3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 |
| Kareem Hunt | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anthony Schwartz | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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