Ups & Downs: Patriots rookies steal the show in win over Browns
BOSTON -- The Patriots are back at .500 on the season, improving to 3-3 with an impressive road win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Bailey Zappe finished off his second straight W in the victory formation, as New England walked off the field with a 38-15 victory. Even Bill Belichick had a smile on his face at the end of the game, with the win moving him into a tie for second place with George Halas on the NFL's all-time win list.
It was another great "team" win for the Patriots, with the defense leading the way, the offense doing its part, and special teams contributing with a key play. Maybe that explains Belichick's smile more than the historical significance of the victory.
The "Ups" were plentiful for the Patriots, while there were a few "Downs" in the team's third win of the season.
Ups
Rookies everywhere
Patriots rookies had their fingerprints all over Sunday's win.
Zappe was good again -- real good -- going 24-for-34 for 309 yards and two touchdowns. He settled down well after fumbling and having some accuracy issues early, and continued to make quick decisions in crunch time. Zappe is now 2-0 as New England's starter, which won't create any sort of controversy over the next week.
Tyquan Thornton caught his first career touchdown and then scored another late in the game on a nice end-around. The rookie receiver finished with four receptions for 37 yards.
Jack Jones and Marcus Jones made up New England's boundary corners throughout the game and the Browns generated very little in their passing offense. Both deflected a pass on Sunday.
We never even thought about Cole Strange, which is exactly how you want to feel about offensive linemen after a game.
And when the Patriots needed a play late when the Browns were making it interesting, Brenden Schooler was once again in the right place at the right time to recover a muffed punt by Chester Rogers at the Cleveland 19-yard line. That set up Thornton's game-sealing TD run -- and an all-time stiff arm by Belichick on the sidelines.
Schooler's gift may have been rejected, but the 2022 rookie class is looking pretty, pretty, prettttaaayyyyyy good for the Patriots.
Defense shuts the door again
The Patriots defense was feeling it again, and came up with three turnovers on the afternoon, with interceptions by Kyle Dugger and Jalen Mills and a big forced fumble by Davon Godchaux, that was picked up by Carl Davis Jr. Special teams also came up with a turnover, and the Patriots scored 24 points off those takeaways.
The New England D went seven straight quarters without allowing a touchdown. Brissett's touchdown to Amari Cooper with 6:17 left in Sunday's game broke up 130 minutes of touchdown-less football for the New England defense.
Rhamondre scores on third down run
Rhamondre Stevenson didn't have the huge game that many expected, but he did break free for a 31-yard scoring run on a third-down draw play for New England's first touchdown of the game. It was the first time under Bill Belichick that the Patriots ran for a touchdown on third-and-10 or longer.
Overall, Stevenson had just 76 yards on 19 carries.
Parker's snag
This is what DeVante Parker was talking about when he said those 50-50 balls are more like 80-20 in his favor.
The vet led the way in the passing game with four receptions for 64 yards.
Tight ends check in
Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith both made plays on Sunday. Henry had four receptions for 61 yards, including a wide open 31-yard touchdown. Smith had just two receptions, but he had 61 yards, with 53 of those yards coming off a nice catch-and-run in the third quarter. It is New England's longest play from scrimmage for the season.
Wise ties career-high with another sack
Deatrich Wise has already matched his career-high of five sacks this season. He crushed Brissett while the QB was going back to throw and knocked the ball lose for a sack and a forced fumble early in the fourth quarter.
Downs
Too many penalties
The Patriots caused a lot of yellow to hit the field on Sunday. They were hit with a dozen penalties for 92 yards.
Three of those penalties came on their first offensive possession, resulting in the team settling for a field goal. Two were pre-snap penalties, with Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn getting flagged for false starts. Then after two cracks from the Cleveland 1-yard line, Hunter Henry's touchdown didn't count because the tight end was out of bounds before making the catch, resulting in an Illegal Touching penalty.
Brown, Henry, and Jakobi Meyers were each hit with two penalties in the game. The Pats also had delay of game penalties on the offense and special teams. They need to clean things up a bit.
Wynn loses against Garrett
Zappe fumbled the ball away on the team's second possession after Wynn lost his matchup against Myles Garrett, allowing the Cleveland beast to knock the ball out of Zappe's hands before he could get into his throwing motion. It was the 11th giveaway by the New England offense on the season.
The possession was a disaster all around for the Patriots, with two penalties that lost 15 yards and the turnover over a five-play stretch.
Lots of injuries
Kendrick Bourne left with a toe injury. Christian Barmore departed with a knee injury. Special teamer Cody Davis left after clutching his knee late in the second quarter.
Wise was then shaken up midway through the fourth quarter, though he did return and seemed fine after the game.
Folk misses under 50
The streak is over for Nick Folk. The kicker missed his first field goal under 50 yards since Week 1 of the 2020 season, pushing a 45-yard attempt wide right in the fourth quarter.
Folk had made 64 straight kicks of 50 yards or under before that miss. It was somewhat important, as it kept it a two-score game with just over nine minutes to play.
Onside kick debacle
The Patriots had their regular return team -- not their "hands" team -- on the field when Cleveland went for an onside kick with 6:15 left in a nine-point game, and it nearly flipped the game on its head for New England.
The Browns recovered, but AJ Green III was out of bounds when he touched the loose ball, so the Patriots were rewarded possession following an official review. But the Browns were really close to getting the ball at the New England 48, which would have made the final minutes a lot more interesting.
