FOXBORO — The Patriots’ offense is coming back to life with a more comfortable Bailey Zappe under center.

Zappe has looked much better as the Patriots’ starting quarterback over the last four weeks than he did in four relief appearances earlier this season. And he explained during his weekly news conference on Wednesday why that might be.

Zappe was 19-of-39 for 158 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions on 41 dropbacks in four games through the first 12 weeks of the season. Among 49 quarterbacks with at least 40 dropbacks, Zappe ranked 48th in both overall PFF grade and passing grade.

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In four starts, in which Zappe has led the Patriots to a 2-2 record over the last four weeks, he’s 80-of-117 for 817 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. Among 32 qualified QBs, he ranks 15th in offensive grade and 13th in passing grade.

Dating back to the spring, when Bill O’Brien took over as offensive coordinator, sources told the Herald that Zappe, who played well in two starts last season in a simplified version of the Patriots’ offense, was having trouble adjusting to new elements of the system. That’s why struggles in training camp and the preseason led him to be released at the end of the summer and why he couldn’t pass Mac Jones on the depth chart for 12 weeks.

So, when did he get more comfortable with what O’Brien brought?

“I would say in training camp I felt like I started to get a good sense of the system. The verbiage and some of the things are different than what we did last year, but of course, the more weeks that I was in the game-planning and the games and now playing in the games, of course, getting comfortable with him and how he calls plays, it’s helped a lot,” Zappe said. “And the more practices and of course the more games I play with him calling it and game-planning with him and getting a sense of how he likes to do things and attack things, I think both of us are only going to get more comfortable with each other.”

Zappe has always been part of the overall game-planning process on Tuesdays, but now that he’s the starter, his opinion matters more. He’s receiving a starter’s share of reps in practice, so of course he’s going to get more comfortable running the system.

The difficulty level for Zappe has been impressively high as he’s gone on his latest run. He hasn’t played with starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson since Week 13. He was without rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas in Weeks 13 and 14, without JuJu Smith-Schuster, with whom he shared an impressive rapport in Week 14, since that game, without DeVante Parker in Week 14 and without tight end Hunter Henry in Sunday’s win over the Broncos. And Kendrick Bourne was lost for the season with a torn ACL in Week 8.

So, he’s won games without Bourne, Stevenson, Douglas, Smith-Schuster, Parker and Henry. And that’s before accounting for all of the moving pieces the Patriots have had on their offensive line over the last four weeks.

“We’ve done a great job of the next-man-up mentality,” Zappe said. “A lot of guys have stepped up and done a phenomenal job. They’ve came in, they’ve understood the gameplan. They’ve run great routes, they’ve caught the ball, they’ve made plays. That’s really the only thing you can ask for. I think we have great depth in all of our running back rooms, tight end rooms, receiver rooms and then of course, the O-line room. We have great depth in every single guy that has the opportunity to play has taken advantage of that opportunity.”

Zappe is saying all of the right things about his teammates, but that hasn’t necessarily been true all season. Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton and Jalen Reagor rank among the bottom third among wide receivers in yards per route run. Tight end Mike Gesicki didn’t catch a pass in Weeks 12, 13 or 14. Parker wasn’t nearly as productive with Mac Jones at quarterback.

“DeVante is one of those guys that I fully believe in,” Zappe said. “Those 50-50 balls are kind of how we connected vs. the Broncos to where I have the confidence in him to really put it wherever I want and he’s going to go get it. It’s either going to be incomplete or it’s going to be a big gain for us. He’s been doing that his whole career.

“So, to be able to see that again vs. the Broncos was a beautiful sight to see him go up and make those catches. If we ever get that matchup again — I don’t know if we will after the game he had — but if we do, hopefully we’ll take advantage of it, and I’ll throw another one up there to him.”

Zappe is 13-of-20 on contested targets over the last four weeks. Patriots quarterbacks were 32-of-64 on those passes over the first 12 weeks of the season.

It’s still unclear what Zappe’s future holds in New England. He is signed through the 2025 season, but whether that’s as a backup, starter or bridge starter remains to be seen and is largely dependent on how he plays in Week 17 and 18 against the Bills and Jets.