Remember a few weeks ago when nobody really took the New England Patriots seriously because their three wins came against the New York Jets (twice) and Houston Texans?
Well, here we are three weeks later and we can add the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns to that list. Three victories for New England that weren’t even close. Utter domination.
And the most impressive one came Sunday in the team’s Week 10 matchup against the Browns, which ended in a 45-7 triumph. This win was easily the Pats’ best all season. It came against a quality opponent and the team as a whole hit on all cylinders, with both efforts being evident in the box score.
Bill Belichick and Co. are clearly hitting their stride and slowly silencing the critics/forcing countless earlier concerns to disappear with this impressive run of form. This game didn’t require much analysis, but it’s important to note where the Patriots were nearly perfect to help them improve to 6-4 with a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on deck.
These three stats show how dominant the Patriots were against the Browns.
3. Mac Jones: 19/23 for 198 yards and three TDs
Throw in Brian Hoyer’s stats, too, and the Patriots’ passing game was 22-of-26 for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Unreal! Mac Jones garnered the most attention of any player on Sunday for his efforts, standing strong in the pocket and delivering strikes or on-the-money touch passes. Each one felt like it had tremendous implications.
Was it his rocket TD pass to Kendrick Bourne? Or the deep over-the-shoulder pass to Jakobi Meyers on third down to keep that same drive alive? Maybe it was his looping deep ball to Hunter Henry on the sideline that started the onslaught in the second half.
This came against the NFL’s No.3-ranked defense, mind you. It was Jones’ best completion percentage of his career (82.6%) and his first three-touchdown game. He continues to prove he’s the best quarterback in this rookie class.
2. Patriots rushing attack: 34 rushes, 184 yards, 5.4 YPC
What else is new? The Patriots shredding opponents on the ground is simply what they do. However, this effort against a stout Cleveland front seven was achieved without starter Damien Harris leading the way.
Rookie Rhamondre Stevenson recorded his first career 100-yard game on 20 rushes and refused to go down. He powered his way in between the tackles and turned in the jets when he got to the outside. If not for his effort when the Patriots were on their own one-yard line early in the game, the offense doesn’t march 99 yards down the field to score a touchdown and suck the life out of Cleveland.
Then came the creativity. Josh McDaniels dialed up a few end-arounds and double-reverses to Kendrick Bourne, who notched three carries for 43 yards. Looks like he’s out of Belichick’s dog house!
More importantly, however, the run game is how the Patriots controlled the pace of the game. They held the ball for 34:02 compared to the Browns’ 25:58 mark (and Cleveland controlled it for almost nine minutes in a feckless fourth quarter, when they had no chance of coming back).
Oh yeah, and take out Brian Hoyer’s two kneels at the end of the game, and it’s 32 rushes for 186 yards, good for a 5.8 average.
1. Baker Mayfield: 11/21 for 73 yards, one TD and one INT
You got the feeling the Browns were going to have to win this one through the air with running backs Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19. After ridding themselves of Odell Beckham Jr., there was a chance Baker Mayfield and Co. continued finding their groove after dismantling the Bengals.
Nope! Sorry, not against the Patriots’ defense, which has been lights out for about a month now. Mayfield was held to 73 yards passing before leaving the game with an injury after taking a big hit from pass rusher Matt Judon. Case Keenum took over late in the third and went 8-of-12 for 84 yards.
Holding Mayfield to those numbers after almost three full quarters though was crucial, however, because there was no way third-string running back D’Ernest Johnson was going to take down the Pats all by himself. Though he rushed 19 times for 99 yards, the Browns were going to have to lean on the aerial attack as the game progressed because Jones and Co. continued to respond, going into the half with a 24-7 lead.
This was shaping up to be Mayfield’s worst game of the season, by far, before his injury. It was the first time he was held under 100 yards passing and just the second time under 200 yards.
New England’s pass rush was relentless, logging 10 QB hits and five sacks. The defense is coming together to be one of the best all-around units in the league, which is perfect timing. For the doubters out there saying the Patriots won’t be able to make a run for the AFC East … their remaining matchups are against the Falcons, Titans, Bills (twice), Colts, Jaguars and Dolphins. All winnable games.
Taking care of business against the Browns was the first step, but it showed exactly what this Patriots’ team is capable of.
Julian Edelman’s reaction to Mac Jones shredding Browns in first half is awesome
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones dominated the Cleveland Browns in the first half and Julian Edelman was loving it.