Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots needed a quick turnaround coming off their win in Tampa on Sunday, and they successfully managed it. Taking on the visiting New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel celebrated its eighth win in a row to improve to 9-2 on the year — securing the franchise’s first winning season since 2021.
The Patriots’ win over the two-win Jets might not have been a spectacular one, but there were multiple individual performances worth highlighting. In addition, the team as a whole performed fairly well as a look at our weekly position grades shows.
Quarterback: Another week, another win, more “MVP!” chants. In a way, Thursday night was business as usual for Drake Maye this season. The Patriots’ second-year QB might have left some plays on the field, and been a relative non-factor as a scrambler this time around, but in the end played another very good game. Completing 25 of 34 pass attempts (73.5%) for 281 yards and a touchdown, he put his team in position to win even when things did not go entirely smoothly overall. Maye, however, was his steady self and as a result kept building his MVP case in front of a national audience. | Grade: A
Running back: The Patriots’ running game once again ran both hot and cold, but that was largely the result of the blocking up front once more being uneven. Lead back TreVeyon Henderson himself, meanwhile, performed at a high level and continues to show why he is deserving of a large chunk of reps even when Rhamondre Stevenson returns to the lineup. The second-round rookie found the end zone three times and as a dual-threat weapon out of the backfield ended with 93 scrimmage yards on 24 touches. The only other back to see action, D’Ernest Johnson, carried the ball three times for six yards, but had a 10-yard carry come off the board due to an offensive penalty. | Grade: A–
Wide receiver: Even with Kayshon Boutte sidelined for a second straight week, the Patriots’ wide receiver group performed fairly well. Stefon Diggs finished with a team-leading nine catches for 105 yards, while Mack Hollins hauled in four passes for 64 and DeMario Douglas three for 31. And yet, the group as a whole did not play a perfect game. Diggs and Hollins both had drops, while the third starter — Kyle Williams — did not have a particularly good game: the third-round rookie seemed to get on the same page with Drake Maye on all three of his targets, resulting in zero catches. File this one under rookie growing pains. | Grade: B
Tight end: Hunter Henry was the lone pure tight end to suit up for the game against the Jets, and he performed well as a receiver: he caught four passes for 45 yards. On the flip side, however, he also surrendered the lone sack of the day...
