Facing a potential trap game on the road on a short week, the Patriots took care of business Thursday night beating the overmatched, undermanned Falcons 25-0.
Though the game very much had the sluggish feel of the short-week game that it was at times, New England dominated Atlanta on both sides of the ball in a battle that was never really in question. The Patriots improved to 7-4 on the season, extended their winning streak to five games and remained perfect on the road with a 5-0 mark.
Before turning the page to the mini-bye and Thanksgiving week preparations for a big battle with the Titans at Gillette, here are the highs and lows from another relatively impressive Patriots road victory:
Thumbs up
Mac Jones – A few days after throwing three touchdowns with a 140-plus passer rating to blow out the Browns, the rookie QB pretty much kept things rolling in Atlanta. Jones completed 14 of his 15 passes in the first half, spreading the wealth to seven different targets to lead the Patriots to a 13-0 halftime lead. Jones did make a mistake forcing a throw for an interception to A.J. Terrell in coverage of Jonnu Smith in the third quarter when he had N’Keal Harry wide open on the sideline. But overall it was another efficient performance, Jones completing 22 of 26 passes for 207 yards with one touchdown and the one pick for a 96.6 rating.
Damien Harris/Rhamondre Stevenson – Harris returned after missing a week to a concussion to split the load with the rookie Stevenson, who had a 100-yard game against the Browns in the veteran’s absence. Both guy ran hard and picked up chunk plays while alternating series in Atlanta. Stevenson had a 21 yard scamper on his first attempt on the way to 12 carries for 69 yards (5.8 avg.). Harris shook off a slow start when he had consecutive runs of 14 and 17 yards later in the first quarter on the way to 10 carries for 56 yards (5.6 avg.). Both beneifted from solid work up front by the New England offensive line.
Jake Bailey – The All-Pro punter has not had a great year and has battled a right knee injury of late. But Bailey was on his game in Atlanta from his first punt in the first quarter that was downed at the Atlanta 4. Each of Bailey’s first three punts of the night were downed inside the 20, including a 60-yard boot. He finished with a 48.3 average on his four punts overall.
Kyle Dugger – New England’s leading tackler on the season, the second-year safety was making plays all over the field in Atlanta. Dugger had a nice pass defense in coverage of Kyle Pitts on the first drive to force a punt. Later in the first half he had a textbook open-field tackle on Russell Gage, nice open field tackle on Gage followed by a big hit on running back Qadree Ollison after a short catch in the second quarter. Dugger finished with seven solo tackles in the win.
Team Defense – From front to back and sideline to sideline the Patriots defense took it to a Falcons team that was more than willing to take the beating, especially when things got ugly late in the game. Kyle Van Noy had two sacks and added a late pick-6 interception return of backup Josh Rosen. Matt Judon had a sack, giving him a career high 10.5 at this point. Matt Ryan was under pressure most of the night thanks to a suspect line. He threw a bad pick to Devin McCourty in the fourth quarter and another when a high pass deflected to J.C. Jackson. Adrian Phillips added a garbage-time interception off Falcons third stringer Feleipe Franks. The Falcons couldn’t really run it or pass it thanks to a well-rounded Patriots defensive performance that held Atlanta to no points, just two third-down conversions, forced the four interceptions and kept the home squad to less than 170 total yards.
Thumbs down
Trent Brown’s socks – The massive right tackle returned to action last Sunday against the Browns and played the entire game against Cleveland with his entire lower legs -- from cleat top to knee – exposed. He opened the game in Atlanta with the same look on his lower leg – clearly not the same uniform as all his other teammates and a violation of NFL uniform rules. But, by the second quarter, Brown lined up with blue and white sleeves of some sort covering his calves, at least an attempt to don a sock-like look to fulfill uniform requirements. That we’re noting this tells you how few things there were for New England that weren’t good in Atlanta.
Gunner Olszewski – New England’s All-Pro punt returner got back to game action after missing a week to a concussion. But he didn’t have his best night. Olszewski ran into teammate Chase Winovich on one return. He also let another opportunity bounce for a 62-yard punt for the Falcons. Olszewski finished with just a 5.7-yard average on three returns to go along with the one questionable decision.
Third downs/Football math – New England couldn’t stay on the field consistently in the first half in Atlanta in part due to third-down failures, going just 1-of-5. The issues on money downs, including with pressure from the Falcons pass rush that’s among the worst in the NFL, continued at times in the second half. That led to the Patriots settling for four Nick Folk field goals, coming away with three points rather than finding the end zone for seven in what certainly could have been another even more impressive blowout win with a couple more key plays on third down. Usually settling for three too often rather than getting seven costs a team -- football math says seven beats three every time -- but that wasn't the case in Atlanta.
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