FOXBOROUGH — It's time to admit, the Patriots are a pretty good team.
New England rolled over the Browns, 45-7, Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in a game where Cleveland led 7-0.
The Patriots offense had four touchdown drives of 90 or more yards.
It was Mac Jones’ best game as a professional. The rookie was 19-for-23 passing for 198 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 142.1 passer rating. It was his first career three touchdown game.
The defense also deserves a ton of credit for holding a solid Browns offense under 10 points. Cleveland was 0-for-9 on third down until it converted a third-and-four just prior to the two-minute warning.
The Patriots have now won four games in a row and are 6-4 on the season.
Here are 10 quick thoughts from the win.
1. Jones was on top of his game and seemed very confident going against a good Browns defense. The rookie made some terrific touch throws and key plays on third down, especially in the first half. He was in total command, which was why it was his best game of the season.
2. Rhamondre Stevenson certainly made a case for more playing time even when Harris is healthy. He ran for an even 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while catching four passes out of the backfield. The rookie out of Oklahoma runs extremely hard and also is athletic enough to make plays in the passing game. While it’s early, it appears the Patriots got a steal in the fourth round of the draft.
3. Give credit to Josh McDaniels and his play-calling. It was his best game of the year and it came without his top running back in Damien Harris. McDaniels used misdirection and screens perfectly against an aggressive Browns defense. He and Jones seem to be in a very good place.
4. The Jones-Hunter Henry connection is really taking off. Henry is quickly becoming his go-to receiver and the rookie clearly trusts him. Henry finished with four catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns. He now has seven touchdowns in his last seven games.
5. The Patriots got Trent Brown back for the first time since Week 1 and he rotated with Michael Onwenu at right tackle. While some may look at it as Onwenu getting demoted, the Patriots don’t like to have too many moving parts, so instead of moving him back inside when Brown was on the field, they stuck to a 1-for-1 switch.
6. Enough of the offense, the defense had a very good day, too. As some expected, the unit was able to confuse Baker Mayfield and get in his head, forcing several bad throws. After a rough opening drive, the unit really came together and dominated the rest of the game. Kyle Dugger had a big interception in the first half that gave the Patriots a ton of momentum.
7. Even though it wasn’t his best game of the season, Matthew Judon had half a sack, which brings him to 9.5 on the year, which ties a career high. He’s been a perfect fit for the Patriots defense and has been worth all the money the Patriots gave him this offseason.
8. Jakobi Meyers got his first career touchdown reception with 4:13 left in the game. Prior to the catch, he had the most receiving yards in NFL history without a touchdown catch. He does have two career passing touchdowns. The entire Patriots team, including many on the sideline, ran to the end zone to celebrate with him.
9. Jake Bailey’s right knee bothered him enough to limit his kickoffs, as Nick Folk did it on a few occasions. This was the case late in the game in Carolina last week. While it is minor, it’s something to monitor moving forward, especially on a short week this week.
10. The win improves the Patriots to 6-4 on the year, which goes a long way towards increasing their playoff chances. New England has a short week this week as it will travel to Atlanta for Thursday Night Football. The Falcons will be coming off a bad loss to the Cowboys on the road, setting up another very winnable game.
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