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Patriots stock watch: Here’s who stood out and struggled in blowout win vs. the Panthers
In total, Marcus Jones tallied 167 punt return yards, setting a new single-game franchise record.
FOXBOROUGH – Marcus Jones’s appetite for risk, fielding a punt with two Carolina Panthers players within striking distance as he caught it, put the Patriots on the scoreboard and sparked a run of three consecutive touchdowns that put the game out of reach early.
He sidestepped one defender, and the other appeared to have him caught by the ankle, only for Jones to keep his feet moving and break through the tackle and turn the play into a footrace into the endzone for an 87-yard touchdown.
New England never looked back, jumping out to a 28-6 halftime lead over the Panthers who looked overwhelmed in all three phases of the game.
Stefon Diggs recorded his first explosive play as a Patriot. TreVeyon Henderson scored his first NFL touchdown. Bryce Young was forced to settle for short 5-and-6 yard gains as the Patriots’ defense refused to give up chunk plays.
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The Patriots put together a resounding 42-13 win over the Panthers on Sunday. Here’s a look at who stood out and who struggled:
Stock Up
Marcus Jones
Jones wasn’t done after the 87-yarder. He almost scored on another punt return in the second quarter, which he took 61 yards before the punter tripped him up inside the 20-yard line.
The Patriots promptly scored four plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run from Antonio Gibson, giving New England a 22-point lead.
Between the touchdown and the 61-yarder, Jones basically gave the Patriots 14 points on special teams. It’s not like he had wide open running lanes either. He took risks, he bounced off tacklers, and used bursts of speed to create separation.
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In total, Jones tallied 167 punt return yards, setting a new single-game franchise record.
This young Patriots offense can use all the help it can get in terms of lightening the scoring load. Jones did just that on Sunday.
Drake Maye
Maye, who is from the Charlotte area, had an efficient day against the team he grew up rooting for.
He finished 14-for-17 passing and looked super comfortable with lots of time to throw. He was able to pick and choose when he wanted to use his legs, most notably on a 5-yard touchdown scramble off of a play-action.
He broke out Cam Newton’s old Superman celebration after the touchdown, a nod to the former Patriots and Panthers quarterback.
His passing performance was marked by calm, accurate throws. He showed that he can zip a pass into a tight window like he did to Hunter Henry on a throw that set up 1st and 1 on the one-yard line in the first half. He also showed touch, hitting Diggs in stride for a 33-yard gain.
Perhaps most importantly, Maye made it through the game without any turnovers. He fumbled and threw a pick last week, but this week he avoided major mistakes.
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Stefon Diggs
One thing about Diggs is that the guy just does not drop passes. He came into the game with 13 catches on 15 targets and turned in another efficient performance on Sunday.
The issue with Diggs, until Sunday, was that the catches had not resulted in explosive plays.
He was averaging 8.6 yards per catch heading into the game, easily the lowest mark of his career. It’s a small sample-size, but we hadn’t seen him break free for a big play until the 33-yarder he caught from Maye.
Diggs is still in search of his first touchdown as a member of the Patriots, but he put up the 37th 100-yard game of his career and helped the team move the ball well.
K’Lavon Chaisson
Chaisson posted the Patriots’ only sack and chipped in a tackle for loss. New England only hit Bryce Young four times as Carolina was limited to its quick passing game. Chaisson had one of those QB hits.
Carolina was fairly aggressive in running towards Chaisson’s side at the beginning of the contest, but nothing big enough to swing the momentum of the game happened.
Ultimately, it wasn’t the strongest day for the Patriots’ pass-rush, but Chaisson was able to add a bit of much-needed pressure.
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The entire Patriots’ offensive line
One sack allowed. Limited penalties. Plenty of time for Maye to throw. Rushing touchdowns from three different players, and more than 100 yards on the ground.
Time to say something we haven’t been able to say for years: Give it up for the Patriots’ offensive line. Solid effort all the way around. The big fellas handled their business. Carolina wasn’t able to wreak much havoc at all.
Christian Barmore
Barmore’s impact won’t show up in the stat sheet as he had zero tackles and zero sacks, but he was pushing people around all day up front, helping to blow up Carolina’s run game.
He also had two of the Patriots’ four quarterback hits, providing pressure up the middle.
Both Barmore and Milton Williams were physical at the point of attack, and it caused problems for the Panthers.
Stock Flat
Christian Gonzalez
Gonzalez was solid in his return from a lengthy absence due to a hamstring injury. The beginning of his game looked worse than it would turn out to be.
He gave up a 16-yard catch to rookie Teteroia McMillan that helped set Carolina up for its first score on the opening drive.
After that, though, Gonzalez handled himself well. McMillan only had two more catches the entire game. Carolina finished with less than 200 passing yards.
Stock Down
Christian Elliss
For the second week in a row, Elliss found himself on the bench after starting the game.
He appeared to be wandering in Craig Woodson’s path when the rookie safety got beat for a touchdown on the opening drive. The coaching staff did not seem to like what they saw, benching him three drives into the game despite the fact that he had eight tackles.
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Jack Gibbens subbed in for Ellis and wound up leading the team in tackles with 13.
Harold Landry III
Landry, who has been dominant at times this season, finished with zero tackles and zero sacks. He did have a QB hit.
He entered the game with 3.5 sacks and had eight tackles the week before against the Steelers.
It was weird not hearing his name called all day. It was an unusually quiet day for the Boston College product.
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