Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots returned to the win column on Sunday, and they did so in dominant fashion. Despite falling behind 6-0, they quickly gained the upper hand over the Carolina Panthers and ultimately managed to cruise to a 42-13 victory that was effectively wrapped up by the early third quarter.
Naturally, the Patriots’ first home win of the season (as well as Mike Vrabel’s tenure as head coach) saw plenty of noteworthy performances. A look at our weekly positional grades, meanwhile, shows that the team as a whole performed at a high level.
Quarterback: Going up against his childhood team, Drake Maye played one of the best games of his young career. Besides completing 82.4% of his pass attempts (14 of 17) for 203 yards with a pair of touchdowns, he also scored on the ground. In general, he looked comfortable operating the offense, made smart decisions, and mostly managed to keep the football out of harm’s way. There were a few misses, including the first third down of the day (an inaccurate near-interception intended for Kayshon Boutte) and his lone sack (coming off tight end Austin Hooper perhaps a bit too quickly), but overall the second-year QB and his team can feel very good about his performance. | Grade: A-
Running back: Last week, after losing three fumbles against Pittsburgh, the Patriots’ running back group earned the first F of the season. This week, the group managed to rebound nicely. Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson did not just take care of the ball, they also had one explosive run each. While their is room for improvement as far as being involved in the passing game and productive in pass protection are concerned, this was a much-needed step in the right direction. | Grade: B+
Wide receiver: Even though only three of the five wide receivers dressed for the game touched the ball, the group as a whole had a strong outing. The leader of the pack was Stefon Diggs, who registered his first 100-yard game in two years and had multiple big connections with Drake Maye; he looked every bit like the WR1 he is being paid to be. Besides the veteran, Mack Hollins scored his second touchdown of the year while DeMario Douglas — who did not see a single target and played only eight snaps — managed to earn a shoutout from head coach Mike Vrabel for his blocking. | Grade: A
Tight end: New England’s tight end group continues to be arguably the most consistent unit on offense. Playing 76% and 65% of snaps, respectively, Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper both had positive contributions in the passing game — catching a combined three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown — and some solid blocks on the ground. Even though the blocking still has room for improvement and Hooper received a 15-yard facemask penalty, that is a minor nitpick relative to what was another strong outing...
