Patriots at Browns score, takeaways: Bailey Zappe wins second straight start, Bill Belichick ties George Halas

The Bailey Zappe era in New England is off to a 2-0 start

The New England Patriots moved to .500 on the season with a 38-15 win over the Browns in Cleveland.

Bill Belichick -- who tied George Halas for second place all-time among all NFL coaches with 324 wins -- saw his defense make an instant impact in this game as Kyle Dugger picked off Jacoby Brissett on the opening drive of the game. That sparked a field-goal drive by the Bailey Zappe-led offense. Cleveland would knot the game with field goal on the ensuing drive and it was largely a tightly contested defensive effort throughout the opening half. That was until Rhamondre Stevenson ripped off a 31-yard touchdown run with a little over three minutes to play in the second quarter. 

Meanwhile, the second half is where New England really started to separate. Jonnu Smith was the catalyst on a 75-yard touchdown drive after he hauled in a 53-yard catch and run. Tyquon Thornton capped off the drive with his first-career touchdown. Two drives later and after a Jalen Mills interception, Zappe connected with Hunter Henry for a 31-yard score to blow the game wide open.

In his second start filling in for the injured Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe is doing his best to create a QB controversy in New England. The rookie finished with 309 yards with two TDs and no interceptions on 24 of 34 passing, while Rhamondre Stevenson carried the ball 19 times for 76 yards and a pair of scores, while adding four catches for 15 yards. On the Cleveland side, Jacoby Brissett went 21 of 45 for 266 yards with one TD and two INTs.

For a full breakdown of how this game unfolded, check out our takeaways below

Why the Patriots won

Bailey Zappe is playing like a quarterback who wants to remain the starter even when Mac Jones returns to full health. The rookie was extremely efficient in this blowout win over the Browns and spread the ball around effectively. Four different pass catchers were able to record 60 or more passing yards in Week 6 and five different players had at least four receptions. Even when facing some pressure, Zappe mostly didn't falter, albeit coughing up the football on a strip-sack by Myles Garrett but that was more on Isaiah Wynn than the young QB. He has great patience in the pocket, particularly on this touchdown throw to fellow rookie Tyquan Thornton. Zappe allowed Thornton to make his move, cut towards the middle of the end zone and fired the ball off once he had daylight. 

Of course, the defense was also a main factor in this win. They created four turnovers on the day, which resulted in 17 points. The front seven was able to put consistent pressure on Jacoby Brissett and force him to make some errant throws that ultimately picked off. Deatrich Wise Jr., Matthew Judon and Ja'Whaun Bentley provided some of the most impactful pressures on Brissett and Kyle Dugger and Jalen Mills cleaned things up with a pair of picks. 

On top of pressuring the quarterback, Bill Belichick's defense held Nick Chubb in check, limiting the NFL's leading rusher heading into today to just 56 yards on the ground.

Why the Browns lost

The Cleveland O-line struggled to contain New England's defensive front. Jacoby Brissett was constantly under siege and was hit eight times on the day, including four sacks. That pressure directly resulted in a number of turnovers, which were turned into points on the other end. That came to fruition right out of the gate as Brissett was under pressure and underthrew a ball to Pharaoh Brown that was picked off by Kyle Dugger and later turned into a field goal by the Patriots offense.  

Not only did the O-line issues hurt the passing game, but there was no strong push for Nick Chubb on the ground either as he was held to his lowest rushing output of the season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the secondary seemed to miss Denzel Ward tremendously. Zappe was able to carve this unit up and throw into some wide open windows that resulted in chunk plays. Five different Patriots pass catches had receptions that traveled 20 or more yards, including a 53-yard catch by Jonnu Smith and a 31-yard touchdown reception by Hunter Henry where the tight had no no Browns defender around him for about 10 yards. 

Cleveland's special teams unit also showed a little bit of unawareness on what should have been a successful onside kick return. After Ronnie Harrison Jr. seemingly was corralling the ball in to give the Browns possession, official review showed A.J. Green touching the football when he was out of bounds, which gave the ball to New England.  

Turning point

New England's 75-yard touchdown drive to begin the second half was where they really started to separate. Jonnu Smith ripped off a 53-yard catch-and-run that helped set up a Tyquan Thornton goal-line touchdown pass from Zappe that put the Patriots up by double digits. While that scoring drive opened the door for the ensuing blowout, it was the interception by Jalen Mills and subsequent touchdown that truly put the final nail in Cleveland.

After forcing a three-and-out on the Patriots offense, the Browns were betting the ball back down 11 with over seven minutes to play in the third quarter, plenty of time to mount a comeback. On the first play of that drive, however, Ja'Whaun Bentley put pressure on Brissett, hit him as he threw and the ball was lofted into the air where Mills would eventually pick him off. That gave the ball back to the Patriots offense, who traveled 40 yards into the end zone on three plays to go up 24-6. 

Play of the game

There were a number of notable plays in this game, including a ridiculous catch by DaVante Parker in the first quarter. That said, let's go with the history-making strip-sack by Myles Garrett as our top play from the afternoon. He passed Clay Matthews Sr. to become the franchise's all-time sack leader with 62.5 with this takedown of Zappe. Garrett beat Patriots right tackle Isaiah Wynn off the edge and was able to get his hand on Zappe's arm and smack the ball loose. 

It was a strong game overall for Garrett, who had another sack on Zappe in the fourth quarter as his team was trying to mount a comeback. Garrett injured his shoulder on the play, but head coach Kevin Stefanksi said postgame that he believes he'll be alright. 

What's next

From here, the Patriots will head back to Foxborough and gear up for a "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Chicago Bears. As for the Browns, they'll go on the road to Baltimore for an AFC North matchup with the Ravens. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:49 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Donovan Peoples-Jones with a fantastic catch on fourth down to keep a Cleveland comeback alive. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:45 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Folk with a rare miss from inside 50 yards. He converted on 64 straight field goals from inside that distance, which was an NFL record. That streak is now over. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:40 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

As crazy as it may sound, Bailey Zappe is doing his best to create a QB controversy in New England. He's over 300 yards passing and two touchdowns with just under 10 minutes to play and the Patriots on the doorstep for another score. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:35 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Patriots pass catchers have been WIDE open today. Something this Cleveland secondary will need to fix going forward. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:12 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

The Patriots are pouring it on. Zappe connects with Hunter Henry for a 31-yard touchdown to go up 24-6. Henry was was wide open as you can get. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:09 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

And there goes that. Jalen Mills picks off Brissett on a pass intended for Njoku. That interception was all thanks to Ja'Whaun Bentley, who pressured Brissett and derailed his throw. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 3:06 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Important stop by the Browns defense. New England's defense had less than two minutes of rest and now has to get back out there. This may be as good of an opportunity that Cleveland will get to catch the Patriots defense on its heels. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:51 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Great throw by Zappe on the Tyquon Thornton touchdown. He waited just long enough for Thornton to clear the area and zipped it to him in the end zone. That was Thornton's first career touchdown. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:47 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

It's no hyperbole to say that might be the biggest play of Jonnu Smith's Patriots career. A 53-yard catch and run put the Patriots on the doorstep of the end zone. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:45 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

The Patriots have downgraded DT Christian Barmore to out with a knee injury. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:29 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Deatrich Wise's pressure helped get the Browns offense off the field and settle for a field goal. Brissett did seem to have Cooper for what would have been a first down. Patriots rookie cornerback Jack Jones seems to be a great find by the team and had nice coverage on Cooper on the previous play on second down. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:13 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Stevenson finally breaks through and gives the Patriots the lead after ripping off a 31-yard touchdown run. Hunter Henry did a great job opening up a hole for Stevenson at the line of scrimmage. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:08 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

One thing that has impressed me about Zappe through a start and a half is his ability to not panic under pressure. Had pressure in his face, was able to shed it and throw the ball away. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:06 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

DeVante Parker is starting to heat up and is taking advantage of Nelson Agholor not being in the rotation. He leads New England with 57 receiving yards so far. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 2:05 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

The CBS broadcast just showed Christian Barmore heading to the locker room. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 1:59 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Patirots DT Christian Barmore is down on the field getting looked at by the medical staff. The second-year pro did pop up on the injury report on Friday with a knee injury and was officially listed as questionable. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 1:55 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Hjalte Froholdt is in at right guard for the Browns with Wyatt Teller injured. Froholdt was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 1:51 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Patriots offense caught a break on the DPI penalty giving them a first down and putting them at midfield, but failed to do anything with it. Went a total of -2 yards after that penalty. Zappe missed Hunter Henry on the right sideline on third down. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 1:47 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Isaiah Wynn -- who allowed Garrett to strip-sack Zappe -- is on the bench to begin this drive. Marcus Cannon in at right tackle. 

[Oct 16, 2022 at 1:43 pm ET · Tyler Sullivan]

Browns try to run the hurry-up on fourth down with a Brissett sneak, but Judon seemed to prevent him from converting the first down. That's been a theme for this New England defense who blanked the Lions last week on fourth down on all six attempts.