Did the Patriots’ offense finally figure it out in week six?

The struggles the Patriots’ offense has faced since the preseason have been well-documented through the last few months, with much of the problem stemming from their own mistakes. Although the season’s first month was a dismal showing, the offense’s performance has looked drastically better, even with a rookie quarterback under center.

After a shutout performance in week five over the highest-scoring offense, Bailey Zappe limited mistakes and led the Patriots to a morale-boosting win in Cleveland. From impressive rookie debuts to finally seeing productive play from the tight ends, the offense performed far and beyond the expectations for Sunday’s game and continue the much-needed win streak leading up to the bye.

Best performers on offense in week six for the Patriots

Tyquan Thornton

The excitement was real when Thornton returned from injured reserve last week but only saw a few passes come his way. In his second career start on Sunday, however, the player that Bill Belichick was hoping to get when selecting Thornton in the draft showed up and showed out all game long.

After a decent first half, the offense marched straight down the field to open the third quarter in seven plays for 75 yards. Bailey Zappe threw a short pass to Thornton who went into the endzone for the two-yard touchdown, increasing the Patriots’ lead to 17-6.

But his day was not done there.

Following a completely botched drive, the Patriots lucked out when the Browns’ returner muffed the punt, allowing Brenden Schooler to make the recovery. Zappe and the offense took over at Cleveland’s 19-yard line and with a swift handoff to Thornton from behind, the rookie receiver showed off his speed by running it in for his second career touchdown.

At the end of the game, Thornton totaled four receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown, while also having three carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. The versatility and excitement he showed were exactly what the team needed this week, especially with Nelson Agholor and Damien Harris absent. As they keep working toward a more consistent and productive offense, his presence will likely become an intricate part of success moving forward.

Bailey Zappe

Leading up to this game, it was unclear which quarterback would be taking the field. Mac Jones made significant strides in practice all week and remained questionable up until the game began. But to maintain the health of his ankle for at least one more week, Jones was kept sidelined for Bailey Zappe to get his first proper start on the road.

The first half wasn’t the prettiest showing by the offense, but Zappe changed things after halftime. He led the offense on five scoring drives (one ending in a missed field goal, but still counts) and spread the ball around like a well-versed veteran. We finally got to see some more deep passes this week, varied but they were still there. And Zappe’s winning performance set more rookie records once again.

His day ended leading the Patriots to another big win, a much-needed win, totaling 24/34 completions for 309 yards and two touchdowns. With Sunday’s performance coupled with last week’s score, Zappe has led the Patriots to outscore their opponents 67-15. Regardless of who they’ve played, those numbers are impressive.

It’s possible this was Zappe’s last start of the season, with Mac Jones appearing to be inches away from getting back on the field. But through his three weeks as the Patriots’ quarterback, he’s shown to be the right guy to lead the team to victory and a better option to be the backup moving forward.

Jonnu Smith

It’s about time Matt Patricia got the tight ends involved and this was the perfect week for both Smith and Hunter Henry to have productive days with the offense. After missing last week’s game due to an ankle injury, Smith’s performance was quite the comeback both he and the team needed.

Although he didn’t have any receptions in the first half, Zappe looked to Smith right away on the first drive of the third quarter. On a simple short pass, he ran the football down the field for 53 yards, breaking multiple tackles in the process. His run set up the offense for their second touchdown of the day and was the hot start needed for the second half.

Smith’s day ended with only one more reception for eight yards, but it was a promising showing after an unproductive first month of the year. As the season progresses, incorporating both tight ends in the game plan should be treated with the utmost importance, and (hopefully) Smith will finally have a breakout game in New England.

Hunter Henry

The tight-end security blanket was all over the field on Sunday and it finally seemed like a big part of the game plan was to include Henry early in the game. After having the best season of his career in 2021, his lack of involvement so far through the first six weeks has been puzzling. If this game is any indication of what’s to come, Henry could be back on the path he finished last year.

Ending the day with four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, Henry’s biggest moment of the game came in the third quarter. After Jalen Mills made the interception, allowing the offense to start on Cleveland’s 40-yard line, the defender guarding Henry lost his footing near the start of the play. Henry easily broke free, left wide open and Zappe took advantage to make the play.

After making the catch, Henry ran down the clear path to the end zone for 31 yards and almost sealed the win for the Patriots. Other than the shock of seeing the tight end uncovered, it was also surprising that it was Henry’s first touchdown of the season.

Now that both tight ends had impactful performances in this game and the Patriots continue to struggle in the red zone, there is a giant need to get them more involved. Henry is capable of doing much more and that needs to be seen over the rest of the season.

Honorable mentions

DeVante Parker – Ending the game with four receptions for 64 yards, Parker made some incredible catches in this game. The most notable of the day came in the first quarter when Parker ended up horizontal in the air, making a diving catch for 29 yards on 3rd and 9. After being targeted a few times last week with plays that ended in defensive pass interference calls, it was good to see exactly why the Patriots made the trade for Parker this spring.

Jakobi Meyers – It would be impossible to not include Meyers every week on the best performances of the day and Sunday’s game was no different. He’s called Mr. Reliable for a reason and he continued to show how good he truly is with a perfect performance going 4/4 receptions for 60 yards.

Rhamondre Stevenson – With Damien Harris remaining out with a hamstring injury, Stevenson got his first official start as RB1 with rookies Pierre Strong Jr. and Kevin Harris behind him. He led the team with an important 31-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-ten play to give the Patriots the lead into halftime. He then put a stamp on the game with a six-yard run into the endzone in the fourth quarter to end the day with 19 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

Bonus stats of the day

• Tyquan Thornton became the first rookie Patriots receiver with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game since Irving Fryar in 1985 (vs. the Seahawks). (via Mike Reiss)
• Bailey Zappe became only the third rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era to record a passer rating of 100 or higher in each of his first two career starts, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (1983) and Andy Dalton (2011). (via Dan Roche)
• Rhamondre Stevenson‘s 31-yard rushing touchdown came on 3rd-and-10. It’s the first time the Patriots have had a rushing touchdown under Bill Belichick on 3rd-and-10 or longer. (via ESPN Stats Info on Twitter)
• Bill Belichick is now tied with the legendary George Halas for the second most head coaching wins in NFL history (324). He is now 23 wins behind Don Shula for first all-time (347). (via The Hall on Twitter)
• Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty moved up the ranks on the list of players with the most games played in franchise history. Slater notched his 212th game, tying for second place all-time with Bruce Armstrong. And Sunday’s game made McCourty’s 194th career game, tying him with Mosi Tatupu for sixth most all time. (via Patriots.com)