The New England Patriots, clad in their classic red Pat Patriot getup, sent the No. 1 ranked Detroit Lions offense through the woodchipper on Sunday, holding them scoreless throughout the duration of the contest.
It was running back Rhamondre Stevenson and wide reciever Jakobi Meyers leading the way for New England’s offense all game, with Stevenson rushing for 161 yards and Meyers catching seven receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown.
While the Patriots were still without starting quarterback Mac Jones, rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe looked comfortable in his stead, throwing for a solid 188 yards and a touchdown, while also adding an interception.
Here are four takeaways from Sunday’s matchup.
1
Jack Jones, for the second consecutive week
The rookie cornerback who came into the year behind a few veterans on the depth chart has made a name for himself over the last few weeks. Last weekend, he made future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers look like a late-round rookie throughout New England’s contest with the Green Bay Packers, and led all NFL cornerbacks with a 94.9 PFF coverage grade for his play.
Jack Jones was ELITE against Green Bay🔱🔒 pic.twitter.com/MARpDGmZ1Q
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 4, 2022
On Sunday, Jones again balled out, recording three tackles, two passes defended, and an interception against Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Throughout the last few weeks, Jones has showcased the keen instincts and ball-hawking ability that encouraged the Patriots to draft him this spring, and will look to keep up his good play in the upcoming games.
2
Wide Receiver hot seats: Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne
Agholor and Bourne have been two of the highlights of New England’s offensive shortcomings over the past few weeks. Agholor, who gained a reputation for dropping key passes during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, mishandled a key pass for the second game in a row on Sunday, and the ball ended up being intercepted as a result.
While many Patriots fans have been frustrated with the team’s under-utilization of Bourne so far this season, he also didn’t help his case during the game. Bourne committed two pre-snap penalties throughout the contest and was involved in a heated conversation with an angry Bill Belichick after he committed the second.
These missed opportunities for Agholor and Bourne occurred in the first game that Tyquan Thornton was active. The rookie second-round draft pick finished with two receptions for seven yards on three targets.
While Thornton isn’t necessarily wide receiver No. 1 just yet, he does have the potential to usurp Agholor and Bourne on the depth chart if they keep underperforming the way they currently are.
3
This defense is good, like really, really good
The Detroit Lions had the No. 1 offense in the NFL coming into Sunday’s matchup. However, if one had watched the game without watching any other NFL games all season, the Patriots would have seemed like the more dominant team in all facets of the game.
While New England’s defensive unit had already proved to be good so far this season, they were other-worldly dominant in Sunday’s performance, as noted by ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Putting the Patriots' defensive performance in perspective, from @ESPNStatsInfo: This is the 1st time in NFL history that a team averaging 35 points per game in its first 4 games was shut out in its 5th game of the season.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 9, 2022
Leading the way for the Patriots was outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who registered three tackles, four quarterback hits and two sacks, one of which resulted in a fumble that was returned by defensive back Kyle Dugger for a touchdown.
The man in the red sleeves was able to work his way through Detroit’s offensive line the entire game, at some points making former top-pick Penei Sewell look like a reserve lineman rather than the top-notch offensive tackle that he normally plays as.
The Patriots will look to keep this positive momentum flowing on defense when they take on the Cleveland Browns next weekend.
4
The offensive line was again superb
Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe had a great day on the field, throwing for 188 passing yards and a touchdown, while also recording an interception on a pass that bounced off the hands of Agholor. However, his offensive line had a major part to play in him having such a strong performance.
New England’s offensive line gave Zappe a clean pocket all game long, keeping at bay the likes of defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and other Lions defenders looking to make Zappe’s day more difficult. Like the defense, the offensive line also played on an egregiously high level on Sunday, as NFL Network’s Mike Giardi Tweeted postgame.
Bailey Zappe declared the #Patriots offensive line the MVP today. Here's the proof to back it up. Zappe was not pressured on any of 21 dropbacks, per @NextGenStats.
– He's the 1st QB not pressured in a game w/ 20+ dropbacks since SF's Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 17, 2017 vs LAR.— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 9, 2022
Since they were able to clean up their miscommunication in Week 3, New England’s offensive line has been very good, giving Zappe plenty of time to move around and hit the open receiver. While Zappe in his own right has performed admirably in the place of Jones, the offensive line should receive most of the credit for the Patriots’ offensive success without their lead signal-caller.
