The New England Patriots stayed in the win column on Thursday night, celebrating an eighth straight W to improve to 9-2 on the year.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing the
27-14 victory.
Winners
QB Drake Maye: Thursday night led to more MVP chants for Drake Maye throughout Gillette Stadium. The Patriots QB finished 25-of-34 for 281 yards and a touchdown as he generated +0.29 EPA per play (79th percentile) with a +13.5 completion percentage over expected (93rd percentile). Even with New York backing off, Maye’s work in the pocket was the star of the show as consistently bought time to find receiver downfield — his best work perhaps coming with a rip through with two hands on the football before finding Stefon Diggs downfield. The MVP chants were deserved in another high-level performance.
WRs Mack Hollins and Stefon Diggs: For the second straight week, the two veterans led New England’s wide receiver room. Diggs posted his 39th career 100-yard game as he hauled in nine passes for 105 yards as his chemistry continues to grow with Maye — especially in the underneath area of the field as Diggs tallied seven receptions for 62 yards on eight targets under 10 air yards. As for Hollins, the veteran brought in four-of-five targets for 64 yards (16.0 YPC), continuing to be a reliable, big-bodied target over the middle of the field.
RB TreVeyon Henderson: Five days after a career-performance, Henderson found the end zone three times as he became the first Patriots rookie in franchise history with five touchdowns in a two-game span. While he did not break any home runs, Henderson’s pair of scores came with good patience and footwork in between the tackles as he looks more and more comfortable as a runner each week. The rookie also hauled all five of his targets for 31 yards and his third score.
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Losers
WR Kyle Williams: After scoring his first-career touchdown in Tampa Bay, Williams was not able to build off his big play Thursday night. All three of his targets from Maye fell incomplete while the receiver and quarterback looked to be on separate pages on two instances. Williams has plenty of talent and a bright future, but the lack of practice repetition between the duo has shown throughout the year.
Honorable mentions
- – Other pass catches: Hunter Henry had a more active game with four catches for 45 yards and was open other times with the ball going elsewhere. Pop Douglas (3/36) had a fourth-down conversion and slippery 26-yard catch-and-run.
- Outside of one holding call, Will Campbell shut out Will McDonald, who entered the week with a quad injury, in 19 matchups. Jared Wilson also had an initial clean sheet in pass protection as Maye was under pressure on 35 percent of his drop backs.
- Josh McDaniels overcame injuries on offensive with some personnel mix-ups. New England ran jumbo looks with Ben Brown as an eligible lineman (helping led to two touchdowns) while the Pats also ran plenty of three receiver sets (and occasional four wide looks).
- Christian Barmore got home with a strong double swipe to record his first sack of the season, while Elijah Ponder recorded his second sack in as many weeks.
- Jack Gibbens continued to make plays in coverage, recording another stop on a Jets’s green.
- Big-time pass breakup by Dell Pettus in the fourth quarter win fourth-down.
- As a whole defensively, another opening-drive touchdown allowed while the Jets, who entered the week with an explosive rushing attack and the first true QB run the Patriots faced, averaged 5.0 yards per carry (28/140).
- Andy Borregales missed his first kick (45 yards) since Week 1, but rebounded with a pair of makes in the second half.
- Strong night for Bryce Baringer with a 51.0 average and two i20’s on three punts.
- New England’s coverage units also did a strong job limiting an explosive Jets’ return game. New York’s longest kickoff return was 27 yards while their longest punt return was 19 (totaling three returns for 18 yards).
- A game plan wrinkle led to a new kickoff return setup with just one returner deep and Brenden Schooler up as a lead blocker. That led to Efton Chism taking all three returns past the 30-yard line.
