Instant analysis from Patriots’ 42-13 win over the Panthers

The New England Patriots have returned to .500, and they did so in dominant fashion.

Playing hosts to the Carolina Panthers, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel celebrated a 42-13 victory that was only truly close for the first quarter. From the moment Drake Maye scored a 5-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter, the Patriots were in cruise control — so much so that they were able to insert backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs into the game with 10 minutes still to go in the fourth period.

Here are some initial observations from the 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.

Big plays instead of turnovers

The Patriots lost their Week 3 game against the Steelers in large part due to their inability to hold onto the football. Turning the ball over five times is not a recipe for success in the NFL, and unsurprisingly was something the team put an emphasis on heading into its game against the Panthers.

The results showed. New England did not put the ball in harm’s way throughout the day, with the running backs holding firm and quarterback Drake Maye generally making sound decisions with the football. There was no shaky ball handling, no supporting cast letting the ball carrier down, and no keeping the play alive at all costs.

Instead, the story of the day for the Patriots offense against Carolina was big plays. Five of those were touchdowns, with Maye leading the charge: his second-quarter scramble for a TD opened the floodgates, with running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson, tight end Hunter Henry, and wide receiver Mack Hollins all finding the end zone as well.

The touchdowns were not the only noteworthy plays on that side of the ball, though. New England also had several chunk plays, with eight classified explosives (i.e. passes of 20+ yards and runs of 10+ yards).

The Patriots may have only finished with 307 yards on the day compared to the Panthers’ 326, but as a result of those sizable gains New England’s efficiency was far superior. The home team averaged 7.2 yards per play before the backup quarterbacks took over in the fourth period, with the visitors checking in at only 4.5.

A tale of two special teams units

The Panthers’ special teams crew entered Week 4 as one of the best in the NFL, but on Sunday it had to play second fiddle to New England. The group coordinated by Jeremy Springer had its best day of the season, both in terms of putting points on the board and winning the field position battle.

No discussion of the unit’s performance on Sunday would be complete without pointing out Marcus Jones, though. The one-time All-Pro had the best game of his career as a returner, and it was badly needed for a Patriots team that started the game slowly and found itself trailing 6-0 when Panthers punter Sam Martin took the field the first time of the day with 5:55 to go in the first quarter.

Martin’s kick sailed toward Jones, who decided to try a runback despite being surrounded by Panthers. The gamble paid off, and 87 yards later he was in the end zone for his fourth career touchdown and second as a punt returner; it also was his first score since a 2022 rookie campaign that earned him All-Pro recognition.

“We need Marcus to be an elite punt returner and his ability to help the offense and be able to gain extra first downs,” Mike Vrabel said of the fourth-year man in July.

On Sunday, he was just that. Jones, after all, also had a 61-yard return to set up an Antonio Gibson touchdown in the second quarter and a 19-yarder to pave the way for Mack Hollins’ TD in the third.

In other big special teams plays, Brenden Schooler took down Carolina’s Trevor Etienne at the 1-yard line in the third quarter (one of three tackles on the day for the captain). On the flip side, the Panthers left points on the board on two Ryan Fitzgerald kicks: the rookie hit the upright on an extra point and later came up short on a 55-yard field goal try.

Vintage Stefon Diggs emerges

Through the first three weeks of the season, Stefon Diggs seemed to be trending in the wrong direction. His targets, receptions, receiving yards and yards per catch went down every Sunday. Against the Panthers, however, the offseason acquisition reversed course and delivered what can best be described as a vintage performance.

The Patriots’ No. 2 wide receiver in terms of total snaps played (31) and No. 1 option in the slot (13), Diggs finished as the team leader in targets (7), catches (6) and yards (101) — his best performance since joining the team on a three-year, $63.5 million contract in March and first 100-yard outing since exactly hitting the century mark as a member of the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 of the 2023 season.

With Diggs set to face his former club a week from today, he seems to be rounding into form.

Drake Maye’s Superman act

New England’s starting quarterback played arguably the best game of his career on Sunday. The 2024 first-round draft pick exuded confidence, saw the field well and, as noted above, made good decisions with the ball.

The result was a 14-of-17 performance as a passer for 203 yards with touchdown throws to Hunter Henry and Mack Hollins. The resulting passer rating of 155.6 is the highest of Maye’s career, while his 0.86 expected points added per play represents a career mark as well (his 19.0 total EPA, meanwhile, trails only the 19.6 he posted in Week 2 versus Miami).

Maye also spread the ball around well, targeting and hitting seven different receivers, while also finding the end zone on the 5-yard scramble mentioned previously. After that TD, he delivered a brief “Superman” celebration — an homage to childhood hero and longtime Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

It was a fitting celebration given Maye’s history, and his performance against Newton’s ex-club.

CB1’s return

The Patriots defense will be without coordinator Terrell Williams for the foreseeable future following his cancer diagnosis, but the unit did get some positive news 90 minutes before the game: Christian Gonzalez, the team’s best player and undisputed No. 1 cornerback, was officially declared active and set to make his season debut.

Gonzalez ended up playing an unofficial 49 of 69 possible snaps (71%), lining up opposite a variety of Panthers pass catchers. His highest-profile opponent, however, was first-round rookie and Carolina’s leading receiver Tetairoa McMillan. While the youngster did manage to catch a pair of passes against the second-team All-Pro for a combined 31 yards, his impact overall was limited.

There are several factors at play, but Gonzalez being in the lineup for New England certainly played its part as well. Accordingly, the 23-year-old can feel good about his season debut.

New-look offensive line delivers

Between Weeks 1 and 3, the Patriots’ offensive line was a bastion of stability that used the same five starters each game. However, the group of Will Campbell, Jared Wilson, Garrett Bradbury, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses was disrupted against Carolina: third-round rookie Wilson, who had played all 205 offensive snaps so far this year, was unable to participate in practice this week and subsequently ruled out for the game.

In his place, the Patriots elevated veteran Ben Brown from backup to starting left guard. The change did not lead to any obvious problems. While New England’s ground game had its ups and downs yet again, pass protection was solid: Drake Maye was pressured on only three of his 21 dropbacks for a season-best rate of 14.3 percent.

Familiar issues remain

The Patriots’ win over the Panthers was the best game of Mike Vrabel’s tenure as head coach, and one of the most complete games the team has played in quite a while. And yet, it was not all sunshine and roses.

The team had another slow start in all three phases, allowing a 76-yard touchdown drive on defense followed by a thee-and-out on offense and a false start penalty on special teams (all in all, New England was flagged seven times resulting in the loss of 54 yards). Missed tackles also were a problem again, with rookie Craig Woodson’s two whiffs leading the way.

While the result and performance overall was encouraging, there also are a lot of coaching points for Vrabel and company to address.