Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots have returned to .500, and they did so in dominant fashion.
Playing hosts to the Carolina Panthers, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel celebrated a 42-13 victory that was only truly close for the first quarter. From the moment Drake Maye scored a 5-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, the Patriots were in cruise control — so much so that they were able to insert backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs into the game with 10 minutes still to go in the fourth period.
Here are some initial observations from the 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots lost their Week 3 game against the Steelers in large part due to their inability to hold onto the football. Turning the ball over five times is not a recipe for success in the NFL, and unsurprisingly was something the team put an emphasis on heading into its game against the Panthers.
The results showed. New England did not put the ball in harm’s way throughout the day, with the running backs holding firm and quarterback Drake Maye generally making sound decisions with the football. There was no shaky ball handling, no supporting cast letting the ball carrier down, and no keeping the play alive at all costs.
Instead, the story of the day for the Patriots offense against Carolina was big plays. Five of those were touchdowns, with Maye leading the charge: his second-quarter scramble for a TD opened the floodgates, with running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson, tight end Hunter Henry, and wide receiver Mack Hollins all finding the end zone as well.
The touchdowns were not the only noteworthy plays on that side of the ball, though. New England also had several chunk plays, with eight classified explosives (i.e. passes of 20+ yards and runs of 10+ yards).
The Patriots may have only finished with 307 yards on the day compared to the Panthers’ 326, but as a result of those sizable gains New England’s efficiency was far superior. The home team averaged 7.2 yards per play before the backup quarterbacks took over in the fourth period, with the visitors checking in at only 4.5.
The Panthers’ special teams crew entered Week 4 as one of the best in the NFL, but on Sunday it had to play second fiddle to New England. The group coordinated by Jeremy Springer had its best day of the season, both in terms of putting points on the board and winning the field position battle.
No discussion of the unit’s performance on Sunday would be complete without pointing out Marcus Jones, though. The one-time All-Pro had the best game of his career as a returner, and it was badly needed for a Patriots team that started the game slowly and found itself trailing 6-0 when Panthers punter Sam Martin took the field the first time of the day...
