Patriots win third straight as defense continues to haunt Sam Darnold

The wins are stacking up, just as the Patriots promised.

Backed by a dominant defense that continued to haunt Sam Darnold, the Patriots plastered the Carolina Panthers, 24-6, at Bank of America stadium.

It was their third win in a row. After a 1-3 start, the Pats are now 5-4, including 4-0 on the road, with a march toward the playoffs becoming more realistic with each week.

With the Bills (5-3) losing to Jacksonville, anything seems possible at this point, including the AFC East.

Mac Jones (12 for 18, 139 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) did just enough, but wasn’t asked to do much. The Patriots primarily went with the run game to bludgeon the Panthers. Rhamondre Stevenson led all rushers with 62 yards on 10 carries, and also had two catches for 44 yards.

Third-down back Brandon Bolden was also a significant contributor as the Patriots ran for a season-high 151 yards.

Darnold and Christian McCaffrey, who were questionable all week, played. The Patriots probably weren’t disappointed to see Darnold, the former Jets quarterback they basically owned when he was with Gang Green.

Darnold’s nightmares against Bill Belichick’s defense continued, as he threw three picks, two to J.C. Jackson, who one-upped his former teammate Stephon Gilmore.

After a woeful first half, the second half didn’t get much better as Darnold first threw an 88-yard pick-six to Jackson after throwing behind tight end Ian Thomas.

He later found Jamie Collins with a pass, as the Carolina crowd serenaded Darnold with boos. For the hat trick, Jackson picked him off in the end zone, playing the ball and intended pass for D.J. Moore perfectly.

Jackson missed two practices during the week with strep throat, and didn’t know if he’d be able to play. He delivered none-the-less.

Darnold (16 for 33, 172 yards, 3 INTs) now has nine interceptions in four games against the Patriots. He’s 0-4 against the Pats. While the Pats didn’t get any sacks, they were constantly pressuring him, constantly in his face, and making his life miserable.

At the start, the game was a sloppy mess, especially from the Patriots side.

Their play was filled with penalties and mistakes. They had five penalties in the first quarter alone. Jones was even called for delay of game on a first down.

It wasn’t pretty.

The good news was they settled down in the second quarter and found some rhythm on offense, while the defense continued to dominate Darnold and the Panthers offense.

The two primary catalysts were rookie Stevenson and veteran Bolden.

On the first scoring drive, Stevenson took a quick hitter from Jones, and rumbled 41 yards. He ran for another 13 yards, to set up Damien Harris for the rushing score from the three. That put the Pats up 7-3, after the Panthers got great field position on the 33-yard-line after a sack/fumble, where he was smoked from behind by Brian Burns. Left tackle Isaiah Wynn didn’t pick up Burns, after Hunter Henry chipped him on the way out to run a route.

The defense held however, and continued to befuddle Darnold after Gilmore jumped a route and picked off a pass intended for Jakobi Meyers. The Panthers could only muster six points off of turnovers and two red zone possessions.

The Patriots, meanwhile, put together another nice drive before the half, aided by Bolden making plays of 28 (reception), 11 and 12 yards.

Jones hit Henry with a five-yard bullet in the end zone, with the Patriots taking a 14-6 lead at the half.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called a good game, aimed at neutralizing Carolina’s speed on defense.

They did most of their damage on the ground, sprinkled with a short passing game from Jones.

The Panthers offensive line was suspect as it was, but lost two more starters (center Matt Paradis, left tackle Cam Erving) by halftime.

On the downside, the Patriots had several players leave the game with head injuries, including Stevenson, Damien Harris, and Gunner Olszewski.

Here were the best and worst Patriot performances from Sunday:

Best

Rhamondre Stevenson — He had 62 yards on 10 carries. He also caught two passes for 44 yards, including a 42-yard beauty.

Brandon Bolden — He was steady Eddie as the third down back. He rushed for 43 yards on six carries, and also had two catches for 27 yards.

The defense — Christian Barmore was a beast, with multiple passes batted down. J.C. Jackson had the pick-six and an interception in the end zone, Jamie Collins had an interception, and the unit as a whole had Darnold seeing ghosts once again.

Worst

Isaiah Wynn — Had a false start, and also didn’t pick up a rusher, who smoked Mac Jones on the blind side, forcing a fumble.

Receivers — Collectively, the group produced four catches for 42 yards. Nelson Agholor was shut out. The Panthers have a good secondary, but that didn’t help the cause.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3o5AkDk