It would be reasonable to forget that the Cleveland Browns held a lead at any point on Sunday afternoon.
They did. It didn't last long.
After the Browns scored on the game’s opening drive, the Patriots reeled off 45 unanswered points, knocking Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield out of the game on the way to a 45-7 rout.
Patriots QB Mac Jones was nearly flawless (19-23 passing for 198 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT) and left the game in the 4th quarter with a win safely at hand. Rookie RB Rhamondre Stevenson recorded his first hundred-yard rushing game (20 carries for 100 yds., 2 TD) in the NFL.
Mayfield's day. on the other hand, was short and nasty. He was sacked three times while taking a pounding that forced him from the game.
The Browns' Baker Mayfield leaves the game against the Patriots after taking a pounding, 11/14/21Dave Mager/WTIC News
The final insult came in the 3rd quarter with back-to-back shots from Deatrich Wise, Jr. and Matthew Judon. Mayfield had to be helped off the field after the Judon hit and never returned. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Mayfield has a knee injury. Its extent is unknown.
After allowing a Browns’ touchdown by tight end Austin Hooper (on a 2-yard throw from Mayfield) less than five minutes into the game, the Patriots’ defense smacked down almost everything Cleveland tried.
New England held Cleveland to just 118 yards passing, while sacking Mayfield and backup Case Keenum a combined five times, batting down 4 passes and intercepting one. RB D’Ernest Johnson gained 58 yards on 4 carries on the opening drive, but was contained the rest of way, finishing with 99 yards.
Safety Devin McCourty says it's preparation that allowed the defense to rebound: "That’s why we were confident even after the first drive, giving up the seven points. Because we know what we studied, we knew our game plan. We know how to go out and execute... That comes from making mistakes in practice and fixing them."
With bookend tackles Isaiah Wynn and Trent Brown starting together for just the second time this season, the Patriots offense scored on 7 of their 8 relevant drives— with six touchdowns and three drives of more than 90 yds. (452 total yds.).
Jones and Co. converted their first six third down plays, leading to 2 of their first 3 touchdowns. A 20 yd. screen pass to Brandon Bolden set up Jones’ 3 yd. TD pass to TE Hunter Henry (who scored twice) on the Pats’ first drive. A perfectly floated 26 yd. pass to Jakobi Meyers set up a 23 yard scoring strike to Kendrick Bourne, giving New England a 21-7 lead.
In between those two TD passes, Mayfield’s day started to go south. Safety Kyle Dugger stepped in to intercept a sideline pass, returning It 37 yards to the Browns’ 5 yd. line. Stevenson scored on the next play—the only play on the shortest TD drive of the day. It lasted 5 seconds.
On their other scoring drives, the Pats played keep-away. Their opening drive (15 plays, 83 yds., 9 min. and 39 sec.) eclipsed most of the 1st qtr.
In the second half, with a 24-7 lead, an 8 play, 92 yd. drive lasting 5:06 closed with Stevenson’s second score, a 2 yd. run.
A 6-play, 95 yd. drive lasted 4:02 and closed with an 11 yd. TD pass from Brian Hoyer to Meyers. It was Meyers’ first NFL touchdown (in 39 games), emptying the bench in celebration.
"Honestly, the fact that everybody celebrated with me means more than the touchdown," said Meyers. "I feel like it says a lot about your teammates and what they think of you, and just the fact that they were all there. I know they’ve been waiting on that, they’ve been real patient."
Browns CB Troy Hill was injured on the Meyers touchdown, leaving the game on a stretcher.
The Patriots' season, like Sunday's win, started slow before picking up major momentum. With 4 straight wins, they're 6-4 and closing in on first place in the AFC East.
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Coach Bill Belichick was pleased with how his running back situation worked out Sunday, after leading rusher Damien Harris and Stevenson spent the week out of practice while in the league's concussion protocol. Harris was inactive.
On Stevenson, Belichick said, "He stepped in for Damien and he did a great job. Again, it's good to have depth and we have depth in the backfield and count on all those guys and they have really come through for us."
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The way to handicap the Patriots-Browns series in recent decades is simple: Which side is Belichick coaching? The Patriots have won 8 of 10 meetings during their Belichick era. The Browns’ last win in Foxborough came as the original Browns (now the Baltimore Ravens) in 1992. Their coach? You guessed it.
The expansion Browns, established in 1999, are 0-and-6 all-time in Foxborough.
