The New England Patriots are as good offensively as they’ve been all season heading into Sunday’s road game against the Buffalo Bills. And most of those improvements can be attributed to things they’ve shown in recent outings, particularly their Week 17 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
Rhamondre Stevenson, who clearly had the weight of the world on his shoulders as the do-it-all running back, finally got a breather with Damien Harris returning and splitting the reps.
Harris was back to being the hammer coming out of the backfield, and coupled with Stevenson’s ridiculous versatility, the duo made a solid one-two punch for the Patriots.
But the real story of the Dolphins game on the offensive side of the ball was the emergence of rookie wideout Tyquan Thornton.
The second-round draft pick finally showcased the blistering speed and deep ball threat talent that initially caught the Patriots’ eye. Thornton’s ability to develop into a true No. 1 receiver could reshape the face of the offense for years to come. Granted, there’s still a long way to go to get to that point, but there were major positive flashes of what he could be in the future.
Let’s take a look at the top-10 offensive players for the Patriots, according to Pro Football Focus, from Week 17.
10
Matthew Slater
Grade: 60.0
9
Michael Onwenu
Grade: 60.0
8
Pierre Strong Jr.
Grade: 60.0
7
Jakobi Meyers
Grade: 65.5
6
Mac Jones
Grade: 66.0
5
Cole Strange
Grade: 66.3
4
Conor McDermott
Grade: 67.6
3
Trent Brown
Grade: 69.1
2
Tyquan Thornton
Grade: 69.4
1
Damien Harris
Grade: 72.8
