The identical records wouldn’t last past Sunday. That much was certain.
Behind 478 yards on offense and four takeaways on defense, the Green Bay Packers routed the New England Patriots by a score of 45-27 at Gillette Stadium.
Here’s a glance back on the 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff as head coach Mike Vrabel’s sideline reaches the midway point of the regular season at 5-4.
Maye’s three picks send Patriots packing by intermission
The reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Month couldn’t keep the pedal down. Drake Maye completed 21-of-38 passes for 299 yards while finding
three touchdowns and three interceptions instead.
Taking the field in jumbo “12” personnel, the opening series stopped before it started. An illegal shift was followed by play action and a bad decision. Xavier McKinney capitalized with the first of his two interceptions on the Patriots quarterback. Back-to-back punts were endured before fellow Packers safety Evan Williams closed and toe-tapped a tipped ball down the left sideline for a pick of his own.
A fast, ugly 17-0 deficit. But a five-play, 68-yard touchdown drive followed with some semblance of normalcy. It included a 36-yard, across-the-body completion and later reached paydirt on a go route to New England’s starting running back.
Maye stood with three interceptions and two touchdowns by halftime while completing 43.5 percent of his throws for 176 yards. A three-and-out got things out of intermission. And while the 24-year-old was at the helm of a seven-play, 77-yard TD drive, the writing was on the wall well before that score made it 42-21.
Backup QB Tommy DeVito took things home for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ contingent.
Douglas paces wideouts in Hollins’ return from injured reserve
After four games away, Mack Hollins got the green light against Green Bay. The eldest statesman on New England’s wide receiver depth chart was activated after logging three practices as a limited participant. But at the time of his October exit due to a calf injury, he ranked atop the aerial attack in targets, catches and yards.
The 33-year-old returned to reel in three passes for 36 yards with a touchdown. That was the case after the first throw sent his way became a pick as he sat down and the ball did not.
With A.J. Brown missing a second straight week due to a knee issue and Romeo Doubs yet to return from injured reserve due to a shoulder issue, DeMario Douglas paced the position with five catches for 102 yards on nine looks. Efton Chism III added TD catch, while Kyle Williams was shut out.
Tight end Hunter Henry, who carried a questionable game status due to a foot injury, totaled three receptions for 35 yards. Behind the captain, rookie Eli Raridon added three reception of his own for 52 yards despite being the intended target on a picked crossing route.
Stevenson reels in TD, loses fumble before departing from backfield
The Patriots were without TreVeyon Henderson for a second game in a row after the No. 38 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft experienced neurological symptoms that required hospitalization. The running back room got thinner from there.
Rhamondre Stevenson turned six carries into 32 yards and three catches into 46 yards against the Packers, including a 30-yard touchdown to get New England on the board as well as ground gains of 12 and 19.
That was after his initial three touches of the game netted a loss of three yards. But a fumble would be lost in the flat in the third quarter of a 20-point game to effectively call off the fight. He would not finish the matchup due to a knee injury that sent him to the locker room for further evaluation.
Corey Kiner rotated in to rush for 55 yards on eight handoffs and his first career touchdown in the closing minutes. The August acquisition doubled as New England’s kickoff returner while 53-man promotion Lan Larison rounded out the backfield depth.
Musical chairs keep playing along the offensive line
After the Patriots made a halftime change in the interior offensive line last week, the combination remained to begin Sunday.
It’d be Ben Brown at left guard. That move previously served as a stabilizer at Hard Rock Stadium. But a knee injury resurfaced in Foxborough. Announced as questionable to return, summer trade pickup Walter Rouse took over in his spot.
The rest of the five went with left tackle Will Campbell, center Jared Wilson, right guard Matt Pryor and right tackle Morgan Moses. But rookie Caleb Lomu, who reported as an eligible sixth man for the starting lineup, ultimately took over on the blindside after a knee injury left the New England’s 2025 first-rounder questionable to return.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s heat hit home for four sacks during the visit. Linebacker Isaiah McDuffie broke the seal at the 12:34 mark in the first quarter. Defensive tackle Karl Brooks and defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton and Brenton Cox Jr. went on to leave their marks, too.
Love’s top-flight tandem amasses 335 yards on 18 targets
Jordan Love entered Sunday atop the NFL in pass attempts, passing yards and intended air yards per attempt. And with a tandem of field stretchers who had entered with 27 receptions north of 20 yards on the season. There was more where that came from.
The Packers quarterback completed 23-of-29 throws for 372 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. Adding a score with his legs, he went 17-of-18 for 335 yards with a pair scores while letting it fly to Christian Watson and Matthew Golden.
Explosives of 49 and 43 yards to the latter wideout were among the damage in the opening quarter alone. There was another No. 0 nearby.
Christian Gonzalez didn’t have any answers for the matchup and also was flagged for defensive pass interference to wipe away his own pick. The All-Pro was joined by Marcus Jones and Carlton Davis III, who limped to the blue medical tent with a knee injury, in the secondary after Charles Woods became a late scratch due to a hamstring injury. That departure sent a rookie cornerback in for his first defensive snaps since September, while safeties Kevin Byard III and Craig Woodson kept playing catch-up.
A 13-yard scramble for a TD was how things got underway for Green Bay off a takeaway. Then a third-and-5 touchdown toss arrived next time out with no defensive backs in the zip code. The third series gave way to a field goal and a 17-point difference. And while two punts and a turnover on downs were soon notched by New England, a 24-14 game it’d be at halftime. By then, the passing game from the NFC North had averaged 13.7 yards per pass attempt.
Savion Williams got in on the wideout fun with a TD catch against fifth-rounder Karon Prunty to further the boatrace. Head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense ended up going 4-of-5 in the red zone. The Patriots had never allowed 45 points in the history of Gillette Stadium.
Ponder up to 7.5 sacks at halfway point
Green Bay’s QB had posted a 153.2 passer rating by the time he took a seat, while the Patriots posted three sacks.
Leading the charge was Elijah Ponder. Sharing a split with fellow edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones, the 2025 undrafted arrival out of Cal Poly registered 1.5 sacks on Sunday to extend his team lead to 7.5 through nine games. Those takedowns went in the books before the half on third-and-5 and second-and-2.
Christian Barmore also got in the column for defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr.
New England started Milton Williams and Cory Durden at defensive tackle and Robert Spillane as well as the omnipresent Christian Elliss off the ball. The Packers’ committee of running backs combined to rush for 95 yards on 26 carries, buoyed by a long of 34 as well as a touchdown at the goal line by Kaleb Johnson.
No field goals, but four pinned punts
Andy Borregales had missed a trio of field goals inside of 50 yards this fall. He had also seen an extra point escape the uprights. Not necessary against the Packers.
The Patriots kicker was held to PAT attempts. His holder proved far busier.
Mitch Wishnowsky punted five times to the tune of 228 yards. The 45.6-yard average was met by four inside-the-20 efforts and no touchbacks. A ball downed by UDFA linebacker Erick Hunter two yards from the end zone was among them on a day that got away.
