New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Preview: Backup Quarterbacks Turned Starters

In a game matching once-proud franchises in the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, it's Bailey Zappe vs. Mitch Trubisky in prime time.

In Week 14, the New England Patriots will be in prime time, hitting the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. On a short week, this AFC matchup is defined by huge question marks at quarterback for both teams. 

In an ugly 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett departed with an injury. The ankle injury is expected to sideline Pickett for four weeks. The start will go to another former first-round draft selection in Mitch Trubisky.

Trubisky hasn't started for the Steelers since last season. In three appearances this season, he is 29 of 49 (59.2%) for 273 yards with two touchdowns. 

For New England, it remains to be seen if Mac Jones or Bailee Zappe will start vs. the Steelers. The Patriots offense ranks last in the NFL, averaging only 12.3 points per game. New England’s offense hasn’t scored more than seven points in three straight games and hasn't topped 30 all season.

With Bailey Zappe vs. Mitch Trubisky ... first one to score wins? / Amazon Prime Video

The Patriots' hideous 6-0 home loss to the Chargers dropped them to an AFC worst 2-10. New England caught a surprising break in the "race" for a better draft pick next April as the Cardinals upset the Steelers in Pittsburgh to improve to 3-10.

With five games remaining in the season, the Patriots have moved up from No. 3 to the No. 2 overall pick. 

Lost in New England's offensive mess was the fact that its defense played very well in Week 13. The Patriots held the Chargers to just 241 yards, 29 rushing yards and six points, their lowest totals of the season on all three fronts. 

Questions about coach Belichick's job security continue to swirl. In typical Belichick fashion, he hasn't paid much mind to those concerns.

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RECORDS: New England Patriots (2-10) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)

ODDS: New England is a 6-point underdog vs. the Steelers

GAME TIME: Thursday, December 7th, 2023 at 8:15 p.m. ET

LOCATION: Acrisure Stadium - Pittsburgh, PA

TV/RADIO: Prime, 98.5 FM THE SPORTS HUB

THE FINAL WORD: Despite being unable to score any points, it wasn't all bad from Patriots coach Bill Belichick's perspective of Zappe's performance:

"I thought he did some good things," Belichick said on The Greg Hill Show on Monday. "Obviously, we didn't produce any points offensively, so that wasn't good. That wasn't just him. That's everybody. We've got to do a better job there, but no turnovers from the quarterback position, and there were some positive plays. We just need to make more."

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