Brissett to Start Against Bills, Garoppolo Out Again

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Jacoby Brissett will once again be under center for New England when they take on the Bills today.

Jacoby Brissett to start, league source tells ESPN. https://t.co/zBNr9QhnAV

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 2, 2016

Media reports earlier in the week indicated that Jimmy Garoppolo would make the start, but team officials reportedly were not satisfied enough with the progress of the sprained AC joint he suffered in Week 2 against the Dolphins to put him in Sunday’s lineup.

Brissett is dealing with his own injury woes, having suffered a torn ligament his right thumb during the Pats 27-0 victory over the Houston Texans on Sept. 22. He finished that game 11 of 19 for 103 yards passing, and 48 rushing yards that included a 27-yard touchdown scramble, playing through the injury.

Even though the MRI confirmed a ligament tear, Brissett did not undergo surgery on the thumb.

The Patriots listed both quarterbacks as questionable this week.

With Garoppolo out, the Patriots will likely go with a run-heavy offense again this week, relying on LeGarrette Blount to carry the bulk of the load. Blount leads the league in rushing so far this season, having tallied 298 yards and 4 touchdowns through three games.

The Bills defense gave up two rushing touchdowns to Arizona’s David Johnson in last week’s 33-18 victory. Overall, Buffalo ranks 15th against the rush so far this year, allowing 98 yards per contest.

Julian Edelman will presumably serve as the backup quarterback should the need arise, and could see work in Wildcat-type packages. Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels has been successful this year implementing creative play calling to counteract the absence of Tom Brady, now in the final days of his 4-week Deflategate suspension.

He’ll have to pull one more rabbit out of his hat this week.