The Patriots got their first home win of the season on Sunday and they did it with their most impressive performance of the season.
After going three-and-out on their first offensive possession, the Patriots scored touchdowns five of the next seven times they had the ball and their defense kept the Panthers from making a second trip into the end zone until things were well out of reach in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The result was a 42-13 runaway win that lifted the Patriots to 2-2 on the season.
New England got rushing touchdowns from TreVeyon Henderson, Antonio Gibson, and Drake Maye in the first half and Maye threw a pair of touchdowns in the second half to put the icing on the cake. Marcus Jones also returned a punt 88 yards for a touchdown as the Patriots made plays in all three phases of the game.
Henderson and Gibson shared backfield time with Rhamondre Stevenson after Stevenson lost a pair of fumbles in last week’s loss to the Steelers. The trio combined for 97 yards on 22 carries and the Patriots played turnover-free football this weekend.
Maye was 14-of-17 for 203 yards before Josh Dobbs came on for garbage time in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs was his top target and the veteran posted 101 yards on six catches over the course of the afternoon. The Patriots would like to see repeats of both performances when they head to Buffalo to face the Bills in Week 5.
The Panthers will be looking for the opposite. Their offense started off on the right foot with a touchdown drive, but a missed extra point was the first sign that things were turning the other way after last Sunday’s 30-0 win over the Falcons. The only other scoring opportunity in the first half was a missed 55-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald and they were down 22 points by the time halftime arrived.
They’ll host the Dolphins next Sunday in what they hope will be a more pleasant afternoon against an AFC East team.
