Pats Pulpit
The first win of the New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel era was a thriller. Taking on the Dolphins in Miami, the first-year head coach and his team emerged with a 33-27 victory from what was a back-and-forth division battle.
The Week 2 shootout saw several noteworthy performances, for better or worse, and an improved Patriots team across the board. A look at our weekly grading chart, however, shows that not every part of the team played an equal part in New England breaking its five-year losing streak in Miami.
Quarterback: Drake Maye has 14 starts under his belt now, and Sunday’s might have been his best one so far. The sophomore looked significantly more comfortable and decisive with his reads, cut down on the unforced errors that plagued him in Week 1, and showed the dual-threat talent that made him a first-round pick last spring. Both of his touchdown passes were impressive as was his scoring run, while his third down conversion to Rhamondre Stevenson saw him combine poise, pocket movement and touch. There were plenty of positives to build on. | Grade: A
Running back: After last week’s pass-heavy game script, the Patriots made an effort to get their running backs more involved. They did, and the group delivered. The star of the show was Rhamondre Stevenson, who looked like the player of old as a runner while also setting a new career mark with 88 receiving yards. The only blemish might have been rookie TreVeyon Henderson struggling in pass protection and finding limited success on the ground. | Grade: B
Wide receiver: Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte both found the end zone, while Stefon Diggs was again actively involve in the mix. Overall, however, the group had a quiet day against a Dolphins secondary that fielded several “break glass in case of emergency” options at cornerback. Supposed go-to receiver DeMario Douglas in particular continues to be quiet, catching just one 8-yard pass all day. | Grade: C
Tight end: The tight end group saw a similar level of involvement as the wide receivers, meaning that there were positive moments but the contributions were far from consistent. It was encouraging to see Austin Hooper finish with three catches for 38 yards, but Hunter Henry was quiet outside of one catch and an illegal shift penalty. The run blocking was also a bit mid. | Grade: C-
Offensive line: Going against a talented defensive front, the Patriots’ new-look offensive line did its job. Drake Maye was pressured on 22.5 percent of his dropbacks, a clear improvement from last week’s 39.2, and despite being sacked on three occasions generally had enough time and space to make proper reads without a sped-up process. The run blocking also was solid for the most part, allowing New England to gain an average of 4.1 yards per scripted run. One area to clean up, though: penalties. The group was flagged five times, including three Morgan Moses false starts....
