The New England Patriots defense did it again in a 27-13 drenching of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
It’s becoming a familiar story with this New England Patriots defense.
Highlighted by Dont’a Hightower fumble recovery that led to a touchdown, that Patriots “Boogeymen” defense forced three consecutive turnovers in the first quarter to help the defending Super Bowl champions jump out to a quick 17-0 led against Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns.
With the rain falling, the Patriots faced a little bit of a challenge going up against a talented Browns’ offense led by Mayfield.
In fact, if it wasn’t for two fumbles from running back Nick Chubb, this would’ve been a closer game than it was. Tom Brady and the offense did some positive things, but still struggled to move the ball at times.
Overall, Brady had a 96.9 quarterback rating in the game, throwing for 259 yards and two touchdowns to Julian Edelman. Sony Michel ran the ball better and newly acquired wide receiver Mohamed Sanu had a couple catches, but the offensive line is still an issue that will hopefully be addressed by the NFL Trade Deadline or the return of offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn from injured reserve.
Until that issue is addressed or improves, that New England Patriots defense continues to be the strength of the team and in recording his 300th career victory, head coach Bill Belichick couldn’t have been happier, here is what the coach had to say following the game, via Patriots.com:
"“I thought we were well prepared for the game, played a tough game. Cleveland’s a very explosive team and they certainly gave us some problems on both sides of the ball. In the end, the turnovers and our ability to capitalize on those was really good and kind of the difference really. A great play by [Dont’a] Hightower coming out on the strip fumble and [Kyle] Van Noy played that play well, so it was good team defense. It’s good to be 8-0.”"
Here are five observations from the New England Patriots 27-13 drenching of the Cleveland Browns.
5. Speaking of 300
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is not the only one reaching historic milestones this season.
With the 27-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns, head coach Bill Belichick recorded his 300th victory as a head coach with the same team he got his first victory against.
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Ironically, the win came against the team he coached when he got that first victory.
Talk about parallels.
But the reason Belichick has reached 300 wins in his coaching career is due to exactly what we saw in Sunday’s game. His teams are usually more prepared, and players are ready for opportunities given. He is also a coach who is always a step ahead of his competition.
Yes, 300 is great, but Bill Belichick and his Patriots team is already onto the Baltimore Ravens and working on win No. 301.
"“Yeah, I mean, look, it’s always good to win. It’s good to beat Cleveland,” Belichick said, via Patriots.com. “It’s good to beat anybody. It’s a tough league to win in, so I’m proud of what the guys did, proud of what this team accomplished today, but we’ve got bigger goals ahead. We know the Ravens are going to be tough next week. They don’t care about this game or what I did or what anybody else did, so we’re going to have to turn the page quickly and move on to Baltimore.”"
The Patriots will have a battle on their hands when they face off against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens next Sunday night. You better believe Bill Belichick will relish victory No. 301 due to the competition.
Oh, and the Ravens happen to be the actual team Belichick coached back when they were the original Cleveland Browns.
4. Boogeymen strike again
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield wasn’t seeing ghosts on Sunday afternoon, but he definitely walked away from the game knowing that the boogeyman (the New England Patriots defense) is for real.
While running back Nick Chubb came away from the game more spooked than Mayfield, the Patriots did sack the second-year quarterback five times and even picked him off from an unlikely source.
No one will confuse veteran defensive tackle Lawrence Guy for a defensive back, but the big man was in the right place on a shovel pass off the hands of Mayfield.
Check this out:
What did Baker Mayfield say about the play?
Well, he gave props to Guy for making a great play on an awful decision.
"“Guy made a good play,” Mayfield said following the game, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “Not expecting him to be there, obviously. A little misdirection, just pitching it to Jarvis [Landry]. I’d like to say that I’d be able to hold on to it, but it’s a quick exchange that we’ve practiced, and Guy made a good play.”"
Overall, the forced turnovers in the first quarter is an example of how cohesive this New England Patriots defense has been playing. There are no superstars, but just players doing their job and being in the right place at the right time.
3. Mohamed Sanu will fit in just fine
Newly acquired wide receiver Mohamed Sanu got his first action in a New England Patriots uniform on Sunday afternoon.
How did he do?
While Sanu wasn’t targeted as much as Antonio Brown was in his first and only game with the Patriots, he did show some signs that he is going to fit in just find catching the ball from Tom Brady.
With just two receptions for 23 yards, it wasn’t a great debut, but it does show that Mohamed Sanu will have to be worked into the offense. Once he is, he will be a viable weapon for Brady, who is working in another new playmaker on offense.
"“You know, I think we’re just going to try to find ways to keep incorporating everybody,” Brady said of his first impressions of Sanu, via Patriots.com. “He worked really hard this week to really get up to speed and to play as much as he did. I think it’s just going to be more and more confidence as he keeps going. He made a huge catch for us on fourth down, had a good crosser that he made a nice catch on, so keep just trying to find ways to get him the ball.”"
With time and more practices under his belt, the New England Patriots will find ways to get Sanu more touches than just the five targets on Sunday afternoon. You know Brady will look more his way as he becomes more experienced within the offense.
2. One flaw in the defense
If there is any flaw in this New England Patriots defense it is against the run.
Like Buffalo Bills running back Frank Gore did back in Week 4, Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb pretty much had his way with the Patriots defense.
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If not for the two fumbles, Chubb was by and far the best offensive player in this game with 131 yards rushing on just 20 attempts. Chubb is a good back obviously, but the way he ran through the defense at times is a focal point for Bill Belichick and the defense going forward, especially with the Baltimore Ravens coming up.
Dont’a Hightower is one of those players who the team relies on to stop opposing team’s running games and he knows they have to get things corrected.
"“Obviously, we can do better. Chubb’s a great back,” Hightower said, via Patriots.com. “Arguably one of the best in the league, if not the best. They obviously had a good couple of plays whether it was pulling guards or some scheme runs. Obviously, Baltimore’s a good rushing team like you said, as well. We’ll just have to get in on film tomorrow, get things corrected and just try to move forward.”"
The fact that Nick Chubb was able to run against the New England Patriots front seven is a bit of concern as the season moves forward. Teams with good running backs will be looking to exploit that weakness. The question is, is the defense versatile and deep enough to make corrections.
We shall find out starting next week against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.
1. A defense that doesn’t let up
Speaking of Nick Chubb, the Cleveland Browns running back had a big run through the New England Patriots defense in the first quarter but saw that near 50-yard run wiped away due to a fumble caused by cornerback Jonathan Jones.
The play really changed the complexion of the game as it appeared Chubb’s run would at least set the Browns up for a very good scoring opportunity.
It also showed just how the Patriots as a team are prepared for any situation. Not only did Jonathan Jones not give up on the play and chase Chubb down, he also had the awareness to swat at the ball causing the fumble.
If you don’t believe it was something the team went over in practice due to the weather conditions, which Jones did confirm following the game. But much of that play has to be attributed to pure hustle to the ball and this defense has been built on hustle and not giving up on plays.
"“It was just hustling,” Jones said, via Patriots.com. “This whole defense hustles, flying around the ball, and everybody is accountable to each other. “So when we’re out there we give 100 percent effort to get to the ball.”"
That’s what makes this Bill Belichick defense extra scary.