Will Bailey Zappe remain Patriots' starting quarterback? Bill Belichick will not say

BOSTON -- At this point, it's become a true waste of time for anyone to bother asking Bill Belichick for information on who might be his starting quarterback. Nevertheless, it's a question that must be asked, even if the non-answer remains the same.

Such was the case on Monday morning, when Belichick joined WEEI for his weekly interview with The Greg Hill Show. Certainly, after Zappe had a three-touchdown performance against the Steelers on Thursday night, it should be safe to assume that the second-year passer will remain the starter this week against Kansas City, right?

"Yeah Courtney, I'm not announcing who's doing what," Belichick said when asked if Zappe will remain the starter this week. "That's -- I'm just not doing that."

That has, of course, been Belichick's go-to answer for the bulk of the season when asked about the starting quarterback. After Mac Jones had been benched for a fourth time, the team finally turned to Zappe in Week 13. Zappe, though, struggled against the Chargers, who entered the game with one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL. The Patriots were shut out, 6-0.

But Zappe and the offense delivered three first-half touchdowns in Pittsburgh, which fueled the 21-18 win, thus setting the stage for Zappe to start in Week 15 against Kansas City.

Belichick, though, spread the credit for that offensive surge.

"It's the offense. So, production comes from units, and there's no individual that can, you know, do it by himself on any side of the ball -- offense, defense, special teams," Belichick said. "So we focus on unit performance and production, and of course individual production goes with it. But we did a good job offensively of moving the ball. We had some explosive plays -- three touchdowns in the red area. So there were some positive things. Certainly not perfect, things we can improve on and need to do better. But that's what it was."

As for what Zappe had done to earn his playing time, Belichick did have plenty of praise for the young quarterback.

"Bailey's been pretty consistent. For the most part, he's done a good job of taking care of the football at the quarterback position," Belichick said. "We haven't had a lot of negative plays -- turnovers and just negative plays, penalties -- that are related to the quarterback position. You know, delay of game, things like that. So he's done a good job of managing the team and taking care of the ball. There's always plays that players and coaches can do a little better when you look back over the game, but again everybody who plays in the game feels that way, so. Bailey works hard and tries to correct his mistakes, tries to learn each week and learn each day. So I'm sure he'll continue to do that. But that good preparation and attention to details certainly puts him on the right path for better performance in the game. That's what we're all here for."

The Chiefs will enter Sunday's game with the third-ranked scoring defense and sixth-ranked passing defense. Though they have just seven interceptions as a team, they have 42 sacks, which is tied for third-most in the NFL, and opponents have a passer rating of 86.0, tied for the 10th-lowest mark in the league.