Patriots Talk Podcast: Which players' stock went up after win vs. Chargers?

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The New England Patriots are back in business after beating the Los Angeles 27-24 in their Week 8 game at SoFi Stadium. 

The Pats have now won back-to-back games for the first time all season, and they've climbed back to .500 at 4-4 as a result. 

Perry's Report Card: Pats defense shines against Herbert's Chargers

Several players for the Patriots stood out Sunday, for both good and bad reasons. On the latest episode of NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Talk Podcast with Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry, Curran laid out some of his players whose stock went up based on the Week 8 performance.

  • "Christian Barmore continuing to be what I would call an All-rookie defender. He's not (Richard) Seymour in terms of size and leverage. He's not (Vince) Wilfork. Those are Hall of Fame level players. He's not Wilfork in terms of being a huge guy, but man he's a pain in the ass (for defenses)."
  • "Myles Bryant had another good game. Certainly, Jonathan Jones does some stuff that's outstanding in his specific role, but Bryant is doing enough in other spots that he's, for instance, more valuable to this team than Joejuan (Williams)."
  • "Adrian Phillips, Nick Folk, Matt Judon -- all thumbs up to them."
  • "N'Keal Harry, he's now strung together some of the best players of his career in the last couple games."
  • "Nelson Agholor gets a thumbs up from me -- no drops and two key catches. I'm not even saying he's a 'B' free agent signing relative to salary and expectations, but I'm going to give him a solid 'C' so far."

Patriots Talk Podcast: How the Patriots changed the story of their season | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

Curran also discussed some of his players who earned a thumbs down on Sunday.

  • "I hate to give a thumbs down on Kendrick Bourne, but I gotta do it, though."
  • "Isaiah Wynn, just a walking disaster or do I overstate?" 

"I think that's overstating it," Phil Perry responded. "A bad holding penalty that erased a nice run by Damien Harris. I don't know what happened to him -- he left the game briefly and Justin Herron came in. Then Herron had a holding penalty that wiped a Harris touchdown off the board. So, do you blame Wynn for that, if you want to. I guess I won't blame you, and that would contribute to his thumbs down."

  • "Finally, Jalen Mills, can we get a thumbs down on him for that late-game play, or was that a good catch by the Chargers wide receiver?" asked Curran.
  • "I'm going to go thumbs down," Perry said. "Just because those are the moments that players with his skill set are expected to win. He's big, he's physical, and that's a rookie he's going up against. ... I thought Mills had a nice pass breakup earlier in the game, but he's still -- every week you're going to be holding your breath until Mills gives up an explosive play."

The Patriots will be on the road again Sunday for a Week 9 matchup against Stephon Gilmore and the Carolina Panthers.

Also in this episode: Curran and Perry discuss what Bill Belichick should be most optimistic about after this win. They second-guess some of the team's decisions, break down the defense coming up clutch when it mattered most in the second half, and much more!

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