New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe is preparing to start in Week 13 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, reports Jeff Howe of The Athletic.
Zappe is in line for his first start of the season after making his fourth relief appearance for Mac Jones last week. His completion percentage has plummeted from 70.7 (92 attempts) as a rookie to 48.7 (39 attempts) this year. Zappe is also averaging fewer than half as many yards per attempt (4.1) than he did last year (8.5). The quarterback change is necessary for New England, but it's not expected to help the fantasy value of anyone on the offense.
Zappe is the QB21 in numberFire's Week 13 fantasy rankings and our models project him for 14.1 FanDuel points, with 233.4 passing yards, 1.02 touchdowns, and 0.7 interceptions. The Chargers have the No. 26 pass defense in the league, according to our opponent-adjusted efficiency rankings, so Zappe will at least have a plus matchup in his first start of the season.
Source: Jeff Howe, The Athletic