The New England Patriots have made a quarterback change. Brian Hoyer is headed to the bench and Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels are going to Jarrett Stidham at the end of the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4.
The team hung close with the Chiefs in the first half, but the offense could not find enough consistency. Hoyer completed 15 of 24 passes but only managed 130 yards. He threw an interception and closed the first half with a brutal sack in the red zone in spite of having no timeouts. It allowed time to run out even as the Patriots at least could have tied the game with a field goal. The Chiefs have since taken a 13-3 lead.
The Patriots spent a fourth round pick on Stidham in 2019 and he made brief appearances in three games as a rookie. The team seemed ready to commit to Stidham this past offseason but then landed Cam Newton on a cheap one-year deal. Newton has been the team’s starter but was placed on COVID/IR over the weekend and could miss Week 5 as well.