Bailey Zappe throws first career interception, but it wasn't his fault
FOXBORO -- Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe faced a tall task on Sunday, put in a must-win position in his first career start.
He came out looking poised and ready for that challenge, but an error by teammate Nelson Agholor didn't help.
In the middle of the second quarter, with the Patriots up 6-0 over the Lions, Zappe fired over the middle to Agholor, who was running a slant near midfield.
The pass was right on the money, but Agholor mishandled it, then popped it up into the air on his second bobble. The ball hung in the air long enough for DeShon Elliott to dive into the picture and pick it off before it hit the turf.
Prior to the interception, Zappe was 5-for-6 for 63 yards, while also rushing twice for five yards. It was the second straight week where Zappe had an interesting side story to tallying a stat, as his first career touchdown pass came after the play clock had been at zero for multiple seconds.
While it won't go down in the stat sheet as a turnover by Agholor, this was -- for all intents and purposes -- his third turnover of the season. He had costly fumbles in Week 1 in Miami and in Week 3 vs. Baltimore.
Fortunately for the Patriots, the turnover didn't hurt, as Judon strip-sacked Jared Goff on a fourth-and-9 play in New England territory, with Kyle Dugger scooping the fumble and returning it 59 yards for a defensive score to give the Patriots a 13-0 lead.
