Instant analysis to Patriots’ lopsided road upset win over Browns
The New England Patriots came into Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns as 2.5-point underdogs. And yet, even when faced with the league’s best rushing offense and a ferocious defense led by arguably the best pass-rusher in the league, the Patriots still came out on top in Week 6.
And it wasn’t even close in the end.
Turnovers told the story of the game with the Browns coughing up four in total. The Patriots in turn made them pay with touchdowns instead of field goals en route to a 38-15 victory.
There may or may not be a quarterback controversy in New England with the way Bailey Zappe is competing right now in place of the injured Mac Jones. It’s one thing to do it in a couple of relatively safely called games against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, but it was clear that the Patriots trusted their rookie fourth-round draft pick enough to open up the playbook a bit more against the Browns.
Zappe has rare poise for a rookie in the pocket. He’s hitting his receivers in stride, and he isn’t killing the team with turnovers, which has been a big issue for Jones this season.
He lit up the Browns’ secondary for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
There was a scare moment for the Patriots, however, when the Browns cut the score within nine points. They recovered an onside kick that would have given them an opportunity to close the gap even further, but the play was overturned after it was revealed that Browns defensive back A.J. Green was out of bounds when he touched the ball during the recovery.
Everything imploded for the Browns after that play, and the Patriots were there to take advantage. They especially made life difficult for Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was sacked four times and hit eight times in a game where he threw two interceptions.
The Patriots have a championship caliber defense right now. It’s all a matter of them figuring things out offensively and avoiding the same costly turnovers that led to them losing to the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens.
Sunday’s win over the Browns was huge because it sets the team up with a 3-3 record and at least four consecutive winnable games on the itinerary. They’ll pick back up in Week 7 in a Monday Night Football battle at New England against the visiting Chicago Bears.
