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          Fourth-down touchdown pass gets Patriots on the board

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterDec 17, 2023, 07:13 PM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Bailey Zappe has stepped into the New England Patriots' starting quarterback role and is rising to the occasion with clutch throws. One them came in the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, when he delivered an accurate strike to tight end Hunter Henry in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown on fourth down.

          The score came on fourth-and-2 with the Patriots in a run-based formation with three tight ends on the field -- one of whom was aligned in a lead-blocking fullback role. The play helped the Patriots tie the game at 7.

          After taking the snap under center, Zappe executed a play-action fake to running back Ezekiel Elliott, then with his back foot on the 25-yard line, lofted a beautiful ball to Henry over linebacker Willie Gay that Henry hauled in as defensive back Mike Edwards was a tick late to arrive.

          The Zappe-to-Henry connection has been hot, going back to the team's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14. At the time of Henry's TD catch on Sunday, Zappe was 9-of-9 for 97 yards and three touchdowns when targeting Henry over the past two games.