After falling behind 6-0 on the Panthers’ first possession, the Patriots scored the game’s next six touchdowns — and six different players scored en route to the 42-13 win, a tribute to the versatility and balance offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is determined to establish.
The Patriots’ first touchdown came on Marcus Jones’s bold and dazzling 87-yard punt return at 5:34 of the first quarter.
McDaniels’s creativity — this is no surprise, but good heavens is he an upgrade over last year’s uninspiring OC, Alex Van Pelt — was most evident on the six-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with quarterback Drake Maye’s 5-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter.
That drive opened with a 24-yard completion to second tight end Austin Hooper. It also included two more 20-yard-plus plays – a 21-yard run by Antonio Gibson on a jet sweep, followed immediately by a handoff to Rhamondre Stevenson after faking another jet sweep, which resulted in a 22-yard run. The Panthers, who somehow shut out the Falcons , a week earlier, had no clue regarding what the Patriots offense was doing from play to play.
The other Patriots to reach the end zone included rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson (his first career touchdown on a 5-yard run), Gibson (1-yard run), tight end Henry (31-yard catch-and-run down the left sideline), and receiver Mack Hollins (4-yard catch).
Stevenson, Gibson, and Henderson combined for 97 yards on 22 carries, with no back getting more than nine attempts. Stefon Diggs led the receiving corps with a flashback performance (six catches, 101 yards), while Maye’s other eight completions went to six different receivers.
Excluding the vast promise of Maye, the Patriots still lack elite skill-position talent (Henderson will be in that category someday). But McDaniels is putting the receivers, running backs, and tight ends they do have into positions to succeed by playing to their strengths.
That has made life much easier for the franchise’s most important player. Maye completed 14 of 17 passes for 203 yards and two TDs, while using his mobility as a weapon rather than as a last resort. McDaniels has been exactly what he needed.
Yes, the Panthers are a lousy football team. But it’s been a long time since the Patriots breezed to a win. This was catharsis, and maybe real progress, too.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Rhamondre Stevenson, Christian Gonzalez, and Mike Jackson.
Marcus Jones: It’s easy to forget now that the Patriots needed a spark after falling behind right out of the gate. Jones, a truly dazzling punt returner, provided it, catching the Panthers’ coverage team off guard by not calling for a fair catch, then following a convoy of Patriots 87 yards for a touchdown. He nearly had a second return for a touchdown in the second quarter, but punter Sam Martin tripped him up at the Carolina 14 after a 61-yard return. Jones finished the day with a franchise single-game record 167 punt return yards. Here’s to McDaniels finding the cornerback a play or two on offense as the season goes on.
Stefon Diggs: Among his six receptions were a 33-yarder, a 30-yarder (on fourth and 3), and a 22-yarder (on third and 15). He has an uncanny knack for finding an opening in the defense, and it is clear that Maye already trusts him fully, throwing the 30-yarder before Diggs had even turned around.
Jack Gibbens: The ex-Titan and officially One Of Vrabel’s Guys led the Patriots with 12 tackles, including eight solo. The Patriots’ top three tacklers were linebackers, with Robert Spillane contributing 10 and Christian Elliss 9.
Some serious nitpicking is required to find a gripe or two in a game that was effectively over at halftime. So nitpick we shall.
Cornerback Carlton Davis theoretically should have had an easier day at the office with Christian Gonzalez making his season debut, but he managed to pick up a pass interference penalty on the Panthers’ second play from scrimmage, then got tagged with a hold early in the second quarter after a Bryce Young incompletion.
Both penalties — two of the Patriots’ seven for the game, still too many — came while covering lanky rookie Tetairoa McMillan, who finished with four catches for 62 yards but didn’t look all that interested in taking on contact.
Predicted final score: Patriots 31, Panthers 23
Final score: Patriots 42, Panthers 13
Teams desperate for a quarterback sometimes see a savior in a player who can never be one. It boggles my mind that the Panthers not only identified Young as the must-have No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, but gave the Bears four draft picks — including the one that turned into No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in ’24 — and receiver D.J. Moore in order to slide into position to draft him. Young (18 for 30, 150 yards, TD) is just too small to ever be a true franchise quarterback … Maye punctuated his rushing TD with Panthers legend Cam Newton’s trademarked “Superman” celebration, a nod to his favorite player as a kid. So someone on the field Sunday remembered when the Panthers were actually good … Chris Myers and Mark Schlereth are low on the Fox Sports NFL broadcast teams depth chart — sixth of six full-time teams, I believe. My hope for the less prominent teams generally is that they don’t detract from the game. Myers and Schlereth passed that test, though Schlereth’s shtick of mixing Maddenisms (“Boom! Boom!) and some Jon Gruden verbal tics (“That guy is the ultimate football guy right there”) would get tiresome if these guys were here on a regular basis.