Later on, Maye connected with Diggs for another chunk. This time, Diggs was isolated on Jackson on the outside on 4th-and-3 from the CAR 34. Maye attacked single coverage by pulling the string on a back-shoulder throw to Diggs, who timed his route perfectly by selling the fade and then working back to the quarterback just in time to make a 30-yard catch.
The Patriots had been building to targeting Diggs on more downfield routes, and it was great to see the star receiver separating from man coverage.
6. Patriots Defense “Settles Down” After the Panthers Opening Script (First 15 Plays)
Speaking to the Patriots top defenders, the theme from that side of the locker room was playing better during the opponents opening script. Carolina grabbed an early lead by scripting a 7-play, 76-yard touchdown drive and then drove to New England’s 45-yard line before stalling out on the Panthers second possession. From there, the defense shut down the Panthers during a 42-0 run, holding Carolina scoreless from 10:51 in the first quarter to a garbage-time touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“They did a nice job early on moving guys around,” Vrabel said of Carolina’s fast start. “If that’s the tradeoff for playing great defense the rest of the way, then we’ll have to go through those growing pains early in the game. I don’t anticipate that we should. It was good to see us respond, and we’ve done that. I’m proud of our guys for not going in the tank or complaining or pointing a finger or anything like that.”
On Sunday, Carolina’s script was to run away from the interior defensive line on sweeps and wide zones, then work boots and short passes off those outside runs. The good news is that offenses are scheming away from stud DTs Christian Barmore and Milton Williams because they’re impact players – it’s good to have those kinds of defenders. But the slightly bad news is they’re finding success early in games. Eventually, the defense pressured Panthers QB Bryce Young on 40.6% of his drop-backs, with Barmore leading the way with five total pressures.
Ultimately, we can debate how much the slow starts are hurting the Patriots. At some point, they’ll face an opponent that can sustain offense past their first 15 plays, which is when it could come back to bite the Pats defense. For now, letting the game declare is working just fine.
7. Rhamondre Stevenson Still Leads Patriots Running Backs in Snaps
As Vrabel said earlier this week, the Patriots didn’t appear to limit Stevenson’s playing time due to his two fumbles in last week’s loss. Stevenson led all Pats RBs with 28 snaps, followed by 14 snaps for rookie TreVeyon Henderson and nine for Antonio Gibson. Although his snaps weren’t decreased, the Pats gave the goal-line carries to Gibson and Henderson, a slight change after Stevenson fumbled on the goal-line in Week 3.
Another notable change was that WR DeMario Douglas only played seven snaps. Douglas’s role was decreased after a shaky Week 3 performance, but Vrabel did point out Pop’s block on Henry’s 31-yard touchdown as a good example of unselfish play. Here were the Patriots wide receiver snap counts: Boutte (33), Diggs (30), Hollins (24), Williams (14), Douglas (7).
8. Patriots Offensive Line Delivers Solid Performance in Sunday’s Victory
Playing down starting left guard Jared Wilson, the Patriots offensive line fared well in pass protection. On initial viewing, Maye was only under pressure on 14.3% of his drop-backs, with the O-Line surrendering three total pressures (one hurry each for Bradbury, Onwenu, and backup LG Ben Brown). Although the game script was a factor in controlling the pressure rate, the O-Line still did its part, as it has for the majority of the season.
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