Patriots-Panthers film review: How Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel bounced back with a blowout win

All week Mike Vrabel s message to the Patriots was get back to basics Well how about back to butt-kicking The Patriots whooped the Panthers on Sunday out-coaching and out-playing them in a way they hadn t beaten anyone in almost four years Marcus Jones powered them with a -yard punt return touchdown then teed up another result with a -yard return minutes before halftime Without Jones the Pats don t dominate like they did But that of subject wasn t all The Patriots offense almost matched its explosive play total from Weeks - and went a perfect -of- on trips inside the red zone Drake Maye s offensive line yielded the lowest pressure rate it has all season which directly led to the cleanest performance of Maye s career Defensively after sleep-walking through their opening series the Pats harassed Bryce Young blocked his only paths to an upset and so Carolina waved a white flag early in the fourth quarter However a repeat performance for the Patriots even against their Charmin soft schedule is no guarantee Defensive cracks surfaced throughout the event and the combination of Maye s precision passes and Josh McDaniels clever play-calling papered over an inefficient run competition The Pats must be even better if they want to bowl over the Bills in Buffalo where they will kick off Sunday as heavy underdogs Or for that matter if they want to become the gang they believe they can be Here s what else the film revealed about the Pats latest win with all personnel play-calling and group stats excluding garbage time Drake Maye -of- for yards TDs rushing yards Accurate throw percentage Under pressure -of- for yards TD sack Against the blitz -of- for yards TD Behind the line -of- for yards - yards downfield -of- for yards TDs - yards downfield -of- for yards yards downfield -of- for yards Foxboro MA - New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye scores defended by Carolina Panthers' DJ Johnson during the second quarter of the event at Gillette Stadium Nancy Lane Boston Herald Notes The NFL s leader in completion percentage owes his offensive line a steak dinner Maybe two Maye could have picnicked inside of several pockets Sunday when he faced zero pressures in the first half and carved up Carolina s zone-heavy scheme from start to finish Maye was exceptionally accurate After an ugly misfire to Kayshon Boutte ended his opening drive his only inaccurate pass on a non-throwaway came with a pass-rusher at his feet in the third quarter Maye owned the middle of the field where the Patriots attacked via play-action and simple zone-beaters that led to three early catches for Stefon Diggs Their chemistry built to a crescendo on Maye s -yard back-shoulder completion to convert on fourth-and- in the second half That play was his only deep completion of the event one of two signs of enhancement for the uber-talented -year-old favored with a bazooka for a right arm who occasionally can t resist the temptation to show it off The other sign Maye s response to pressure He went -of- for yards and a touchdown under duress and folded for a -yard sack the only time he was truly threatened inside the pocket Whereas against Pittsburgh he lost a fumble trying to revive a dead play Maye s legs bailed him out a couple times Sunday namely on bootleg play-action concepts that were well-covered and Hunter Henry s -yard touchdown an off-schedule play where his creativity opened a late throwing lane that sparked a sensational amount All together you cannot separate Maye s brilliance from the immaculate pass protection he received the Patriots offensive line yielded just two pressures all tournament But when a quarterback throws with accuracy and decisiveness and finishes with as several touchdowns as incompletions that just about says it all Critical areas Turnovers Patriots Panthers Explosive play rate Patriots Panthers Success rate Patriots Panthers Red-zone efficiency Patriots - Panthers - Defensive pressure rate Patriots Panthers Offense Encounter plan New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left talks with quarterback Drake Maye during the second half of an NFL football contest against the Carolina Panthers Sunday Sept in Foxborough Mass AP Photo Charles Krupa Personnel breakdown of snaps in personnel snaps in personnel snaps in F personnel snaps in F personnel snaps in personnel snaps in jumbo personnel Personnel production success rate in personnel success rate in personnel success rate in F personnel success rate in H personnel success rate in personnel success rate in jumbo personnel First-down down play-calls run success rate pass success rate Play-action rate Despite the pedestrian box-score stats this was close to a McDaniels masterpiece The Patriots exploited a dopey Carolina linebacking corps with simple misdirections starting with a season-high play-action rate and early -yard tight end screen to Austin Hooper McDaniels then triggered back-to-back explosive runs in the first quarter with jet motion first a hand-off to Antonio Gibson on a -yard jet sweep then a fake jet sweep before Rhamondre Stevenson rumbled yards on a hand-off going the other way Maye finished that drive with a naked bootleg where overly aggressive edge-rusher D J Johnson might as well have been naked and afraid watching Maye scoot by him for a -yard touchdown DrakeMaye around the outside FOX pic twitter com rtBrd AjtD New England Patriots Patriots September Maye finished -of- for yards and two touchdowns on passes with pre-snap motion He wisely avoided Pro Bowl corner Jaycee Horn on the outside In addition to avoiding Horn the Pats made a habit of snapping the ball promptly at the end of their motions to give the Panthers minimal time to react including on TreVeyon Henderson s -yard touchdown run That play also reflected a deepened commitment to gap schemes over zone-blocked runs which are averaging over a yard less through four weeks Despite the shift to more man-blocked runs power counter duo the Pats posted just a success rate when rushing and rushing success rate on first down At halftime McDaniels pivoted to more personnel three receivers one running back and one tight end to jump-start his run encounter because it had been their preponderance efficient to that point No luck By the end McDaniels schemed all three of the Pats longest runs the aforementioned explosive gains both from little-used Pony personnel featuring two receivers two halfbacks and one tight end and an -yard pickup for Henderson on an end-around Sportsman stats Foxboro MA - New England Patriots' Rhamondre Stevenson celebrates the touchdown by Treveyon Henderson during the second quarter of the encounter at Gillette Stadium Nancy Lane Boston Herald Broken tackles RB Rhamondre Stevenson RB TreVeyon Henderson RB Antonio Gibson TE Hunter Henry Pressure allowed C Garrett Bradbury hurry LG Ben Brown hurry Squad sack hurry Run stuffs allowed WR Mack Hollins Brown Company Drops N A Notes Again it starts up front Center Garrett Bradbury and backup left guard Ben Brown were the only offensive linemen to allow pressure Elite pass protection was the foundation for this -point offensive breakout Rookie left tackle Will Campbell posted a clean sheet for the second time in his first four NFL games demonstrating improved technique superb athleticism and recovery skills to keep Maye clean Campbell and Brown also led the way on the bulk of the Pats best runs including Antonio Gibson s -yard touchdown and excluding TreVeyon Henderson s -yard points where right guard Mike Onwenu beat Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown at the line Downfield the Patriots handled business too with tight end Austin Hooper delivering key blocks on both explosive runs Wide receivers Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins erased defenders on the Pats first and second run of -plus yards respectively Without those downfield blocks and DeMario Douglas late effort to spring Hunter Henry on his -yard touchdown the Pats would more or less have been stuck in the mud because of their middling efficiency That efficiency can jump as soon as the Patriots start moving bodies in the run challenge again like they did against Miami Now what about Stefon Diggs He accounted for three explosive plays on his own one each from the X Z and slot receiver positions Diggs saw a slight uptick in snaps at Douglas expense a needed change for a passing offense seeking continuity The greatest upgrade Diggs offered was his feel against zone coverage settling down for three short catches on his first four targets Later he demonstrated perfect timing on Maye s back-shoulder throw looking back at the last second and pushing off just enough to give corner Mike Jackson no chance to break up the pass As for the running backs Rhamondre Stevenson remains entrenched as the Pats lead back He split snaps almost evenly in the first half with Henderson then pulled away in the second half when Henderson picked up yet another penalty in blitz pickup Whether or not that flag was fair Stevenson is clearly the best pass-protector among running backs so that skill and Vrabel s confidence will keep him atop the depth chart until further notice A final hat-tip t Henderson he displayed much better patience on his touchdown run a welcome change after he left yards on the field against Pittsburgh by running into tacklers instead of waiting for blocks to develop Defense Foxboro MA -New England Patriots' Christian Gonzalez keeps an eye on Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young during the third quarter of the contest at Gillette Stadium Nancy Lane Boston Herald Battle plan Personnel breakdown three-corner nickel package three-safety nickel base defense Coverage breakdown zone man Blitz rate Blitz efficacy offensive success rate and yards per play allowed A simple battle plan for a straightforward competition Recognizing the Panthers were playing with half their cards on the table meaning third-stringers at wide receiver and backups along their offensive line the Pats majored in single-high coverages to load the box and crowd the middle of the field After a sloppy start featuring more penalties and poor tackling the plan worked because it forced Carolina to nickel-and-dime its way downfield with players ill-suited to sustain long drives To help quarterback Bryce Young Carolina rolled him out frequently on play-action of his attempts and dialed up occasional deep shots on first down However the Panthers never hit a single deep throw and completed just two passes longer than yards downfield because Pats defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr had a bead on when they required to roll the dice Kuhr deployed two-high coverages on virtually every first down when Young looked long which either coaxed a checkdown or incompletion from Carolina Once the Panthers detected themselves in long-yardage Kuhr called for exotic fronts that occasionally put edge-rushers like Harold Landry at inside linebacker that not only kept Young from scrambling but put him under constant duress Preventing Young from extending plays as a runner was a clear match plan focus When Young in the end sat in the fourth quarter he had averaged five yards per pass attempt run for three yards and felt pressure on more than a third of his dropbacks Performer stats Pressure DL Christian Barmore QB hits hurries OLB K Lavon Chaisson sack hurries OLB Harold Landry QB hit hurry DL Milton Williams hurries DL Keion White hurries DT Khyris Tonga hurry Run stuffs Organization LB Jack Gibbens LB Christian Elliss DL Cory Durden Pass deflections S Craig Woodson DL Khyris Tonga Missed tackles Chaisson Woodson Elliss Tonga OLB Anfernee Jennings Notes How did Christian Gonzalez look Not quite himself but close Gonzalez allowed two catches for yards both to Panthers first-round rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan Gonzalez did not shadow McMillan Carolina s only above-average pass-catcher but instead stuck to the right side of the defense while fellow corner Carlton Davis manned the left Gonzalez played defensive snaps third-most on the organization and a mild surprise for someone making his season debut not long after an -week layoff due to injury It s reasonable to expect he ll be a full-go again this Sunday But how much man-coverage will they play The Pats came close to matching their season-high rate of man coverage the Panthers a percentage that risked putting their safeties against McMillan on a couple snaps That bears watching because if the Patriots opt to play more man-to-man coverage moving forward clever offensive coordinators like Buffalo s Joe Brady will create those same matchup with motion to avoid Gonzalez and exploit their safeties Defensive tackle Christian Barmore led a near dominant performance up front despite a forgettable showing in the box result He led the Pats with four pressures and arguably should have drawn as multiple holding penalties from an inconsistent officiating crew Next to Barmore Milton Williams gifted a sack to edge rusher K Lavon Chaisson by winning so speedily with his pass rush that it sent Bryce Young tumbling backward in the second quarter when Chaisson touched him down for an -yard loss On to the aforementioned cracks Carolina successfully targeted Chaisson and Keion White on outside runs to the left where they averaged yards per carry White failed to set three edges coming off the bench That type of poor run defense would have negated his two pressures in a competitive challenge setting Another crack it s time for Jack Gibbens to replace Christian Elliss full-time at inside linebacker Ellis missed another tackle misdiagnosed the first play of the event and tipped a blitz which allowed Young to check to a better play Gibbens though then became a target in coverage He s a better tackler than Elliss and more instinctive performer but less athletic One plus Robert Spillane has rebounded from a dreadful two-game start to the season when he missed more tackles than he made He had a team-high stops and several alert plays in zone coverage One plus and a minus rookie safety Craig Woodson whiffed twice but almost had an interception following Young s eyes during excellent rep as the low zone competitor in Cover His communication with fellow safety Jaylinn Hawkins particularly against pre-snap motion when the Pats disguised coverage was another highlight Explosive plays are defined as runs of -plus yards and passes of -plus yards Success rate is an efficiency metric measuring how often an offense stays on schedule A play is flourishing when it produces positive EPA Expected Points Added personnel one running back one tight end personnel one running back two tight ends personnel one back three tight ends personnel two backs one tight end H two halfbacks one tight end jumbo personnel two backs two tight ends six offensive linemen Base defense four defensive backs nickel five