With Cam Newton out due to a positive COVID-19 test, the New England Patriots will have to go with veteran backup quarterback Brian Hoyer vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs has been postponed to either Monday or Tuesday, with the latter being more likely. However, Patriots fans may wish for a longer postponement so Cam Newton can start once he recovers from the coronavirus, which he tested positive for on Saturday morning.
With Newton out for the game vs. the reigning Super Bowl champions, Bill Belichick has named veteran backup Brian Hoyer as the starter over Jarrett Stidham.
Before the Patriots signed Newton on a bargain deal, it was assumed Stidham would be the starter. But after being inactive for the first three games of the season, he won’t even get a chance to start with Newton out.
Brian Hoyer to start for Patriots vs. Chiefs with Cam Newton out
Hoyer will have the unenviable task of starting against the Chiefs who look even better than last year when they won the Super Bowl.
The Patriots will be decided underdogs without Newton, likely being the biggest underdogs in the Belichick era, even when they had to start Matt Cassell after Tom Brady tore his ACL in the season opener.
Hoyer started one game for the Indianapolis Colts last year, his first start since 2017 when he went 0-6 as the starter for the San Francisco 49ers. Hoyer hasn’t won a start since the 2016 season when he was 1-4 as the starter for the Chicago Bears.
This doesn’t bode well for a Patriots upset of the Chiefs on Monday or Tuesday or whenever they get the game in. This is why the Patriots fans should be wishing for the game to be canceled until later in the season when Newton is back. With Newton, they stand a much greater chance of beating the Chiefs who look close to unbeatable.
Hoyer is 16-22 overall as a starter in his career that began with the Patriots in 2009, but this is his first start for the Patriots for the veteran backup.