GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Patriots needed a win Monday night at State Farm Stadium. They got what they came for.
It wasn't always pretty. They scored 20 offensive points against one of the NFL's worst defenses. They went 3 for 11 on third down. They faced a Cardinals offense that lost starting quarterback Kyler Murray on the third play from scrimmage.
But the Patriots won't quibble with the result: a 27-13 victory that puts them back in the AFC playoff picture with four games remaining.
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Let's get to the grades ...
Quarterback: C+
Mac Jones threw with anticipation early in this one. His dig route to DeVante Parker for 14 yards to start the game was on the money. As was his slant to Parker, which was Parker's last play of the game. Jones' ability to check to shorter throws was impactful against the Cardinals' pressure looks, and his strikes to Henry down the field were key.
His 39-yarder to the big tight end was made possible thanks to Jones looking off the safety in the middle of the field first. Jones' out route to Nelson Agholor for 14 yards in the second quarter was a dime, and his recovery of Kevin Harris' fumble at the end of the first half was worth three points. His best throw of the day might've been an on-the-run strike on third down to Kendrick Bourne for 15 yards.
It was far from perfect, of course. Jones' early screen attempt to Jonnu Smith was off the mark and led to a third-and-long situation. He threw late on another screen later in the game which led to an illegal-man-downfield penalty. The delay-of-game call might've been partly on the communication Jones was getting, but he wanted to "reload" the play after changing it at the line and didn't have time. He sailed an out route that took his receiver out of bounds, too.
New England Patriots
Not his best day. But not his worst. Enough for a desperately-needed win.
Running back: B
This grade easily could've been lower had Kevin Harris lost that end-of-half fumble. But he didn't. And he came up with a strong 14-yard run for his first touchdown as a pro, breaking a tackle in the process. Pierre Strong notched his first score as well, and that wasn't his most impressive run of the day. Using his speed to bounce outside and gain the corner, he had runs of 44 and 19 yards.
Rhamondre Stevenson was flagged for an illegal shift, and Harris slipped on an outside zone run that went for a loss of four. But, especially with Stevenson having to leave injured, it was a solid day for this group's rookies, who combined for 96 yards on 13 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
Wide receiver: B-
Kendrick Bourne finished with five catches for 47 yards and two key blocks, both on dynamo safety Budda Baker: one on Strong's 44-yarder and one on Harris' score. Despite an illegal shift penalty, he was the best of the receiver bunch on Monday night after making headlines the week prior about how the Patriots offense was schemed up.
It was a good thing for New England that Bourne was available as he, Tyquan Thornton and Nelson Agholor were the lone three full-time wideouts available once DeVante Parker left with a head injury.
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Agholor had a drop, a double-catch, an incompletion on a fade, and a second drop that nearly turned into an interception. Thornton finished with four grabs for 24 yards, including one where he glided out of bounds despite being close to the sticks and potentially being able to stop and turn upfield to get the line to gain.
Marcus Jones helped this grade out as he played in the slot again, being used frequently as an "orbit" motion man, and coming up with a 12-yard swing pass in the first quarter.
“It’s cool to have him helping where he can," Mac Jones said of the rookie do-it-all athlete. "The kid’s on special teams, hitting people on defense, and covering really good receivers, then coming over and running full speed on motions and running routes. Really great leadership from him and a vocal guy.
"He’s a young guy, but to show that he’s going to give it 100 percent no matter what his role is is pretty cool. I felt like he did that tonight and we’re definitely going to expand on that. The guys want to be out there and the guys that play hard are going to be out there. We have a really good group."
Tight end: B
Hunter Henry showed why he needs to be accounted for down the seam moving forward, catching two passes for 69 total yards on two of Jones' handful of downfield throws. He was in pass protection and on the scene for the hit that led to Jones' interception. But hard to hold that against Henry.
No. 1: He was asked to block a defensive end 1-on-1, which would seem to be a losing battle. No. 2: It looked like Henry had his assignment taken care of. But when Jones as forced to step up in the pocket because Budda Baker got around Kevin Harris in pass protection, that's where Henry lost his angle, leading to the turnover.
Jonnu Smith continued his quiet season, not catching either of the two early targets sent his way.
Offensive line: C+
Trent Brown was flagged for a false start on the first third down of the game. And while working with rookie Cole Strange, he lost to a Cards two-man game that resulted in a sack. Mike Onwenu was whistled for an illegal block above the waist.
This group did help clear the way for the Patriots to average 4.9 yards per carry, though. It also helped its two rookie running backs punch in red-zone touchdowns. The reason this grade isn't higher is due in part to the fact that the line wasn't given an opportunity to show that it could protect for some longer-developing plays down the field.
No one in the NFL had the ball out of their hands more quickly than Jones this week (2.37 seconds, per Next Gen). I asked Andrews for his level of confidence in the line to be able to protect Jones on dropbacks that may lead to longer throws.
"Look, you talk about in football 'gotta-have-it' plays," Andrews said. "Big plays. As an o-lineman, every play is a gotta-have-it. Every play is important. Can't take a play off. Gotta block your ass off every play. If not, it's not going to be a good result.
"We did some good things. There's some things we can clean up and do better, things in the run game I think we can do better. But good enough to win tonight and we can focus on that tomorrow."
Special teams: B
Nick Folk made both field-goal attempts, including one from 51 yards out after the Patriots made it tougher on him with an end-of-half fumble. He also drilled all three of his point-after tries. Strong day out of him.
Punter Michael Palardy? Little more of a mixed bag. He had a dud of a punt that traveled just 33 yards and floated out of bounds. But he also had one punt land inside the 10 prior to the scoop-and-score by Raekwon McMillan that changed the game.
He had another that was nearly downed at the one, but Matthew Slater's cleats drifted into the end zone and sent the ball out for a touchback -- a 20-yard misstep.
Defensive line: C-
Daniel Ekuale helps this unit thanks to his work as a pass-rusher. He had a fourth-quarter run-stuff that was immediately followed by a sack to almost single-handedly force a Cardinals three-and-out. Lawrence Guy had a sack and Deatrich Wise put a lick on Colt McCoy on the play that eventually led to DeAndre Hopkins' fumble.
But this unit helped allow James Conner to run for 5.7 yards per carry, and Ekuale was partly to blame on Conner's touchdown run; he swiped at the ball to try to force a fumble but did not try to tackle him. The running-game work produced here has this grade sitting where it does.
Linebacker: A
Josh Uche accounted for three sacks, a pressure that helped lead to an incompletion, and a quarterback hit that led to an interception. Matt Judon came up with another sack and a half of his own. Raekwon McMillan had a scoop-and-score touchdown. Ja'Whaun Bentley led the team with 10 tackles, including one that showed good hustle that limited an Arizona screen to a one-yard gain. Jahlani Tavai had a pass breakup on fourth down that gave the ball back to his team with a chance to score at the end of the first half. Tavai had another breakup later in the game.
Judon did pick up an offside penalty late, and this unit had a hand in Conner racking up big runs against them. But the big plays from this unit were big enough to elevate this grade to where it is.
Secondary: B+
This group gets a big old bump from Kyle Dugger for stripping DeAndre Hopkins, who exhibited some extremely questionable ball security on his third-quarter fumble.
Marcus Jones being in the right place at the right time to make the most of Josh Uche's hit on Colt McCoy by coming up with an interception? That helps this mark, too. As did his stride-for-stride rep with Hopkins that led to an incompletion on a fade down the sideline.
Fellow rookie Jack Jones also came up with a pass breakup on Hopkins early in this one. Credit there. Credit as well to Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant for their strong coverage that led to a failed red zone trip at the start of the second quarter.
Dugger did miss two tackles in the first quarter, though. Devin McCourty missed a pair of his own and appeared to hurt his shoulder trying to bring down a scrambling Colt McCoy. Jon Jones picked up a defensive pass interference penalty and an illegal contact penalty. Those miscues prevent this mark from getting any higher this week.