3 winners (and 1 obvious loser) from Patriots’ emphatic win over Panthers

The New England Patriots (and their fans) needed that one.

The last time the Patriots had won a home game by three-plus scores was Week 5 of the 2022 regular season — when QB Bailey Zappe won the first start of his NFL career in a 29-0 rout of the Detroit Lions. New England put an emphatic end to that drought on Sunday, putting together the finest three-phase performance of the Mike Vrabel era in a 42-13 laugher over the Carolina Panthers.

Drake Maye flirted with a perfect passer rating, and the defense essentially pitched a shutout after a disappointing opening series. Oh, and the team committed zero turnovers, one week after giving the football away five times in a frustrating loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Panthers are far from an NFL juggernaut, but this was a feel-good win for New England with a big road trip to Buffalo looming on Sunday Night Football in Week 5. 

The best and worst from the New England Patriots’ blowout win over the Carolina Panthers

Winner: Marcus Jones (and the special teams)

The Patriots opened this game as if they were playing, well, the Carolina Panthers. Thankfully, Marcus Jones sparked his teammates — and the entire stadium — to life late in the first quarter with his electric, 87-yard punt return for a touchdown. 

Jones nearly took a second to the house later in the first half. He finished the game with three total punt returns for 167 yards, an average of 55.7 a pop.

This game was a step in the right direction for the special teams overall. Rookie kicker Andy Borregales made all six of his extra point tries, and punter Bryce Baringer averaged over 51 yards on his four punts.

Winner: WR Stefon Diggs 

Diggs is still only 11 months removed from tearing the ACL in his right knee. Still, we've heard plenty of takes like — “He doesn’t look like a No. 1 wide receiver anymore" — since the start of training camp.

He sure looked like Maye’s WR1 on Sunday against the Panthers. Diggs matched or set season highs in targets (7), receptions (6) and yards (101). He had three chunk plays of 20-plus yards, after having zero such catches over his first three games with the Patriots.

This was the performance Patriots fans were waiting for from Diggs.

Winner: OC Josh McDaniels

For as poorly as the Patriots’ offense played during last week’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, headlined by five turnovers, there were some hidden signs that a breakout game like this was coming. 

McDaniels deserves a ton of credit. He managed the Rhamondre Stevenson-fumbling situation well, getting all three running backs involved early and often. Maye completed over 80 percent of his passes with a season-high yardage average of 11.4.

Through four games, the Patriots have been well-balanced and are attacking every level of the defense in the passing game. They had a new leading receiver in Diggs for the fourth straight week, joining Kayshon Boutte (Week 1), Stevenson (Week 2) and tight end Hunter Henry (Week 3).

Was bringing McDaniels back this offseason the right call? It’s hard to argue anything but yes through the first month of the season.

Loser: WR Demario Douglas

Douglas was effectively benched in this game, even with the Patriots leading 28-6 and in full control at halftime. 

Per Pro Football Focus, New England’s wide receiver snap counts against the Panthers went: Boutte (34), Diggs (31), Mack Hollins (24), Kyle Williams (14) and then Douglas (8). Clearly, the role for the Patriots’ presumed No. 1 slot receiver entering the season has just about vanished. 

Stevenson’s fumbles stole the local headlines all week, but Douglas had a brutal play himself on the Patriots’ final offensive play of the Steelers loss. His reduction in playing time could boil down to performance, the team’s new personnel, or a mixture of everything, but New England’s most productive WR of the past two seasons has suddenly fallen completely out of the rotation.

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