Led again by the defense, the New England Patriots improved to 8-0 with a 27-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Here are the three most important plays of Week 8.
The New England Patriots remained undefeated with a 27-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 8 of the 2019 NFL season. It wasn’t pretty, but the team found ways to capitalize on Browns mistakes on a late Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Most of those Browns mistakes occurred in the first quarter. On three consecutive plays, the Patriots defense forced three turnovers to jump out to a quick 17-0 lead. As it turned out, the game was decided in that first quarter.
Led by Baker Mayfield and running back Nick Chubb, who were responsible for the three early turnovers, Cleveland did start to move the ball on the Patriots defense as the game moved forward. They were actually within one score early in the third quarter before Tom Brady and the Patriots offense were able to drive the field to go up two scores on a Browns’ defense that was getting consistent pressure on Brady.
The line play on both sides of the ball was actually a negative takeaway for the New England Patriots in this game. The offensive line struggled to keep Brady upright and Chubb was able to gain over 130 yards one the Patriots defense.
In collecting his 300th victory with the win, you better believe Bill Belichick will work with his team to correct those two concerns heading into the Week 9 Sunday night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
A win is a win however, and here are the three most important plays of the Week 8 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
3. James White’s screen play
With Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns coming within 17-10 of the New England Patriots to open the second half, all momentum appeared to be shifting.
In fact, the Browns had Tom Brady and the Patriots offense in a third-and-long situation with a chance to quickly get the ball back in Mayfield’s hand. That’s when the Patriots caught Cleveland’s defense being a little too aggressive.
Brady slipped this screen pass to James White that went for 59 yards to set up a Patriots touchdown, putting them back up by two scores in the game.
Notice in this play, offensive lineman Joe Thuney got just enough of a Browns defender to spring White free on the play. It was the perfect play call and great execution by the offense to swing the momentum back in the Patriots direction.
If the Patriots are stopped there, the Browns get the ball back in good field position with a chance to either tie the game or inch closer with a field goal. With the way the defense has been playing this season, a score there isn’t a guarantee, but Brady and the offense found a way salvage the drive and punch in a touchdown when they needed to.
2. Guy’s first career interception
With the New England Patriots already up 10-0 in the game, Baker Mayfield gifted defensive lineman Lawrence Guy with his first career interception.
For a man whose role is the clog up the middle of the defensive line, Guy was probably one of the last players on the defense expected to have an opportunity for an interception, but he was at the right place at the right time for this shovel pass from Mayfield:
The turnover set up a Patriots touchdown that put them up 17-0 that actually turned out to be the game winner.
How did Lawrence Guy feel about the play?
Well, excited is an understatement.
"“That’s just one of those plays where you play every down hard and stuff like that happens,” Guy said following the game, via Patriots.com. “It was a great defensive play. It was my first interception in nine years. I’ve had some fumble recoveries. I said, ’Oh man I’m going to go,’ but I didn’t go far. That was special, I’m going to get that ball somewhere and put it in my locker.”"
Guy was also credited with the fumble that set up the first score of the game when Dont’a Hightower recovered the ball and took it to the house. The boogeymen got off rolling in this game and the big defensive lineman did his part in spooking Baker Mayfield.
1. Jonathan Jones’ hustle play
If the Cleveland Browns weren’t rattled by the Lawrence Guy unlikely interception, their spirit has to be dampened on the series prior when Nick Chubb broke through the New England Patriots defense for 40-plus yards just to give the ball up inside the Patriots 20-yard line.
The score was 10-0 at the time, and if Chubb does not fumble, the Browns have a golden opportunity to get back in the game. But, the speed and hustle of Jonathan Jones on this play prevented that from happening.
Talk about not quitting on a play. It really showed how the entire defense has been committed to playing as an entire entity.
"“Jon’s really fast,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said after the game, via Patriots.com. “He plays with great effort all of the time and he’s made so many big plays for us in the four years that he’s been here. That was a tremendous play. He just tracked [Nick] Chubb down and timed the slap perfectly. I’m not even sure who got the ball but getting it out was half the battle and then recovering it was the other half of the battle. I thought the defense as a team, our effort and hustle on that play really speaks to the level of commitment that those guys have out there for each other and for the team.”"
As one of the unheralded players on this New England Patriots defense, Jonathan Jones is showing why he did earn a contract extension going into the season. His speed and physicality in the secondary have been a real factor through the first eight games of the season.
Don’t be surprised if he makes a couple more big, impactful plays in the second half of the season.