Perhaps the most excitement generated by the New England Patriots offense in a while came 90 minutes prior to kickoff on Sunday.
Usual backup Bailey Zappe was slotted as the team's emergency third quarterback, meaning he'd been supplanted by Malik Cunningham as the No. 2 behind Mac Jones.
Having never played in an NFL game, it was quite a leap for Cunningham, but it's a sign of things to come, according to Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien.
"You could see him at different spots throughout the offense obviously other than offensive line, he can play a lot of different places," O'Brien said Tuesday, via the Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo. "So, it will be week to week based on the game plan and we're pretty early in this week so I don't think we have any idea where that will be this week."
Having been elevated from the practice squad, Cunningham made his official NFL debut in the Patriots' 21-17 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. He saw six snaps' worth of action with a 5-yard sack as his only statistic to show. However, there was a glimpse of what could lie ahead as Cunningham shared the field with Jones more often than not, lining up wide twice, in the slot twice and at QB on his two other snaps.
"You put together a package of plays and you try not to overload him, and they're plays within our system, so these aren't brand new plays," O'Brien said. "He's a very bright guy, he does a good job, he knows the plays and he's gotten better every week."
Owners of the 31st-ranked offense in points scored, the Patriots are throwing anything they can at the scoreboard and hoping something sticks. The 25-year-old Cunnigham is an undrafted rookie out of Louisville who threw for 9,664 yards and 70 touchdowns in parts of five seasons, while adding 3,182 rushing yards and 50 scores on the ground. A look at Cunningham's 2021 redshirt junior season in which he had 1,034 yards and 20 scores on the ground in addition to 2,941 yards and another 19 TDs through the air is example enough on why the Patriots are kicking the tires to see how Cunningham can run in the NFL given their sputtering offense.
During the preseason, Cunningham had a chance to show off his versatility, completing 3 of 6 passes for 19 yards, running the ball six times for 39 yards and a touchdown and tallying one reception on nine targets.
So, if nothing more, the Patriots (1-5) have added some intrigue on offense from within.
Nonetheless, O'Brien was clear there wasn't a reason to read too much into this as a slight on Zappe and also confirmed Jones was the starter for Week 7 against the Buffalo Bills.
"We haven't lost any confidence in Bailey," O'Brien said, "we felt that was the best way to go about it for the Raider game based on where we were from an injury standpoint, how do we get Malik Cunningham into the game and that was the best way to get him into the game."
Just how Cunningham gets into the game against the Bills this week and beyond is the latest QB storyline to watch for in Boston.
