The New England Patriots headed into their Week 8 game against the Cleveland Browns as a touchdown favorite, but early on it appeared they were in for a dog fight. The first half was a struggle, particularly on the offensive side of the ball against a disruptive defense ranked among the best in football.
And yet, in the end, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel pulled away in the second half to win with a comfortable margin of 19 points. Along the way, the team saw some standout individual performances
and — as a look at our weekly position grades shows — a good display from top to bottom.
Patriots position grades for Week 8
Quarterback: The Browns managed to make life difficult for Drake Maye, but the second-year passer weathered the storm in impressive fashion as evidenced by his final stat line: he completed 18 of 24 throws for 282 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, posting his seventh straight game of a passer rating above 100. The numbers tell only part of the story, though: Maye did hold onto the ball a tad too long at times and his pick was unnecessary, but he showed that he can perform at a high level and play winning football even when finding himself in a challenging spot. Whether or not that makes him an MVP candidate, as fans were chanting, is up for debate. He certainly continues to show he is developing into a top-tier QB, though. | Grade: B+
Running back: Statistically, the Patriots’ run game had its best day of the season and TreVeyon Henderson was a large part of it. The rookie registered a career-high 75 yards on just 10 carries, even though he also lost a fumble near the goal line in the fourth quarter; nonetheless, the positives did outweigh the negatives for the second-round draft pick. The rest of the RB group was less productive, with Rhamondre Stevenson finishing the game with 34 rushing yards on 14 carries as well as a 15-yard reception. Terrell Jennings’ two carries for 15 yards came with the game already decided. | Grade: B+
Wide receiver: The Patriots’ wide receiver group continues to play at a high level, with the starting three all contributing. Mack Hollins had his best day with the team, catching seven passes for 74 yards; Kayshon Boutte again proved his playmaking potential going 3-75 with a touchdown; Stefon Diggs hauled in his first TD as a Patriot on a 3-14 day. In addition, you had DeMario Douglas bring in a 44-yard catch on his lone target. Douglas actually was out-snapped by Kyle Williams on the day, but the rookie did not see any targets. Overall, though, it was another good day for New England’s receiving group. | Grade: A-
Tight end: As receiving options, Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper continue to be reliable: the two veterans hauled in all three of their combined targets for a total of 45 yards and one touchdown. The group also helped the Patriots move the ball effectively on the ground, even though the blocking performance as a whole was not entirely clean. That was particularly true in pass protection, where multiple Henry chips against All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett did little damage. | Grade: B+
Offensive line: Granted, Myles Garrett is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who has wreaked havoc ever since entering the NFL in 2017. That does not excuse being on the other end of him setting a career high with five sacks, even though not all of the takedowns were necessarily fully on the blocking up front. Still with Garrett setting the way, the Browns managed to pressure Drake Maye on 41.2% of his dropbacks and disrupt the passing game’s rhythm especially early. Not all was bad for the O-line, though: despite going up against one of the top run defenses in football, it managed to clear frequent paths for the team’s ball carriers en route to a season-high outing of 180 yards on the ground. | Grade: C
Defensive line: The Browns may have averaged 4.3 yards per rushing attempt on Sunday and given up only one sack on the day, but make no mistake: this was another quality performance by the Patriots’ defensive line, even with Christian Barmore missing the first quarter for disciplinary reasons. Going up against a seasoned offensive line, New England managed to control its gaps in the run game and regularly pressure quarterback Dillon Gabriel. In fact, the rookie QB was disrupted at a higher rate (42.1%) than his Patriots counterpart which also contributed to his intentional grounding safety in the fourth quarter. | Grade: A
Linebacker: Part of the Patriots’ success on the ground was the second level being quick in pursuit and attacking downhill. Robert Spillane in particular performed well, playing yet another good game as an every-down linebacker: he was dominant against the run and also registered the first of two New England interceptions, returning it 33 yards to set up Stefon Diggs’ touchdown. The rest of the group also had some good moments, even though it also produced two lowlights when it twice failed to properly follow tight end Harold Fannin Jr. in man coverage on the Browns’ opening touchdown drive. | Grade: B+
Cornerback: Neither Cleveland’s quarterback nor its receiving corps strike fear into the hearts of NFL defenses, but that does not mean they are an easy pushover either: you still need to deliver, which is precisely what the Patriots’ cornerback group did. Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis combined to give up just three receiving yards on eight total targets, while Marcus Jones had a pair of third down pass breakups and also thwarted a two-point conversion attempt. He also missed a pair of tackles, but in the grand scheme of things those were merely a blip on the radar. | Grade: A
Safety: Jaylinn Hawkins’ return to the lineup was a full-on success. Playing all 54 defensive snaps, the first-year starter showed good range and awareness in the secondary and also made one of the most impressive interceptions you will ever see. His running mate, rookie Craig Woodson, also had a good overall game and seemed more confident with Hawkins aligning next to him again. | Grade: A
Special teams: Andy Borregales again played a clean game, splitting the uprights on all three of his field goal attempts in the first half and on his three extra points in the second. Bryce Baringer also hit the ball well on his three punts, while the returners — despite not getting a lot of opportunity — looked good; that included TreVeyon Henderson who assumed the role of kickoff returner again and averaged 27.5 yards on his two runbacks. Penalties remain an issue for the unit, and it recovered only one of Cleveland’s two onside kicks, but the overall performance was again solid. | Grade: B
The Patriots did not play their best football against the Browns, and despite winning by 19 points have plenty of room for improvement. That said, they were a lot more consistent than their opponent and early second half had a textbook sequence of complementary football. That’s all it took.
How would you grade the Patriots’ performance in Week 8, though? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.
