After a chaotic past few weeks, New England defeated the Panthers on Sunday, 42-13. Across the board, the team was excellent. The offense was humming, the defense looked stifling and the special teams were perfect. It’s hard not to love what you saw on Sunday if you’re a Pats fan, especially considering they scored 40+ points for the first time since 2021.
Admittedly, the Patriots started slow. Despite scoring 35 points as an offense, they were unable to put anything on the board in the first quarter. Their lone seven points came from a Marcus Jones punt return touchdown, his first of the season. While it wasn’t overly flashy, the offense was efficient. They didn’t turn the ball over, had no notable turnover worthy plays and allowed a single sack. The trio of running backs all ran for 4.2 yards per carry or more, and Stefon Diggs hit the 100-yard mark for the first time in his New England career. Hunter Henry, though to a lesser degree, found success again this week, finding the endzone for the third time in two games. Mack Hollins also caught his second touchdown in three weeks.
Defensively, the unit also started slow, allowing Carolina’s sole touchdown drive led by Bryce Young to come on the opening drive. The seven-play drive was an efficient one from the Panthers. A David Moore end around started things off, followed by a nine-yard Chuba Hubbard carry and a pass interference call against the Patriots’ Carlton Davis. A pair of 16-yard passes from Young took the Panthers into the red zone and a Tommy Tremble catch made the score 6-0 after a missed extra point. The Panthers would not see the endzone until Andy Dalton made a cameo at the end of the game.
Milton Williams looked good defensively, but Davis, a second high-priced free agent, continued to struggle in his fourth game. In Week 1, he had a costly blown coverage that iced the game for the Raiders, D.K. Metcalf got the best of him in Week 3 and rookie Tet McMillan beat him rather often, though Young was unable to get him the ball.
Aside from Davis, it’s hard to find much fault with a defense who allowed six points in meaningful snaps. Rookie kicker Andy Borregales hasn’t missed any of his eight extra points after going one for three in his second career game against the Dolphins, so it’s been nice to see him continuing to develop. He went 6/6 on the day.
Looking forward to next week, the Patriots will have their first primetime game of the season against reigning AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football. The Bills are no doubt a talented team. They’re 4-0 after three weeks, and Josh Allen’s herculean performances have been a huge reason why. The reigning MVP has 10 total touchdowns to one interception on the season and passes for 241 yards per game. He also has a 70.2% completion rate and rushes for just shy of 40 yards a game.
The Bills offense features many of the same faces from last year: Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Dalton Kincaid and star running back James Cook. Former Charger Josh Palmer was brought in at receiver too. Defensively, the unit is stout. Second year safety Cole Bishop features at safety and had an incredible one-handed interception last game. Tre’Devious White is back after spending time with the Rams and Ravens and Joey Bosa is Greg Rousseau’s new running mate.
The Bills are one of the top teams in football, no doubt. They don’t have many weaknesses and given that the Patriots will face them on the road, it’s difficult to imagine them escaping with a win. The only hope is that the Patriots have found their stride offensively, while the Bills’ semi-struggle against the Saints sets them back. This week could see one team riding high with 42-point momentum while the other comes off a week in which the defense struggled to stop the run against an 0-4 squad.
However unlikely, a Patriots road win against one of the best teams in the league who has beaten them eight out of the last 11 times would be a culture setter for Mike Vrabel and company. To move to 3-2 after a tumultuous first four weeks would mean everything to the Patriots’ playoff hopes, which are still very much alive at 2-2.