The New England Patriots needed a quick turnaround coming off their win in Tampa on Sunday, and they successfully managed it. Taking on the visiting New York Jets on Thursday Night Football, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel celebrated its
eighth win in a row to improve to 9-2 on the year — securing the franchise’s
first winning season since 2021.
The Patriots’ win over the two-win Jets might not have been a spectacular one, but there were multiple
individual performances worth highlighting. In addition, the team as a whole performed fairly well as a look at our weekly position grades shows.
Patriots position grades from NFL Week 11
Quarterback: Another week, another win, more “MVP!” chants. In a way, Thursday night was business as usual for Drake Maye this season. The Patriots’ second-year QB might have left some plays on the field, and been a relative non-factor as a scrambler this time around, but in the end played another very good game. Completing 25 of 34 pass attempts (73.5%) for 281 yards and a touchdown, he put his team in position to win even when things did not go entirely smoothly overall. Maye, however, was his steady self and as a result kept building his MVP case in front of a national audience. |
Grade: A
Running back: The Patriots’ running game once again ran both hot and cold, but that was largely the result of the blocking up front once more being uneven. Lead back TreVeyon Henderson himself, meanwhile, performed at a high level and continues to show why he is deserving of a large chunk of reps even when Rhamondre Stevenson returns to the lineup. The second-round rookie found the end zone three times and as a dual-threat weapon out of the backfield ended with 93 scrimmage yards on 24 touches. The only other back to see action, D’Ernest Johnson, carried the ball three times for six yards, but had a 10-yard carry come off the board due to an offensive penalty. |
Grade: A–
Wide receiver: Even with Kayshon Boutte sidelined for a second straight week, the Patriots’ wide receiver group performed fairly well. Stefon Diggs finished with a team-leading nine catches for 105 yards, while Mack Hollins hauled in four passes for 64 and DeMario Douglas three for 31. And yet, the group as a whole did not play a perfect game. Diggs and Hollins both had drops, while the third starter — Kyle Williams — did not have a particularly good game: the third-round rookie seemed to get on the same page with Drake Maye on all three of his targets, resulting in zero catches. File this one under rookie growing pains. |
Grade: B
Tight end: Hunter Henry was the lone pure tight end to suit up for the game against the Jets, and he performed well as a receiver: he caught four passes for 45 yards. On the flip side, however, he also surrendered the lone sack of the day when asked to go 1-on-1 against the Jets’ Jermaine Johnson — a loss that is as much on him as it is on the coaching staff putting him in a challenging situation. Still, Henry performed well, and so did the other quasi-tight ends and fullbacks: Khyiris Tonga may have only played one game, but he again looked like a natural on offense, while offensive lineman Ben Brown made his debut as an extra blocker. Jack Westover, meanwhile, had the aforementioned penalty on D’Ernest Johnson’s long run. |
Grade: B
Offensive line: Credit where credit is due, the Patriots’ offensive line did its job and then some on both of TreVeyon Henderson’s touchdown run. It also was able to largely keep the Jets’ pass rush away from Drake Maye, despite the occasional hiccup and holding penalty. However, the group once again had a tough time clearing space in the running game, particularly on early downs. In total, New England finished the day with 63 rushing yards on 23 schemed attempts (i.e. no scrambles or kneel-downs) for an average of only 2.7 yards per attempt. |
Grade: B-
Defensive line: The Patriots’ defensive line suffered a major blow early in the game, when starter Milton Williams was lost to an ankle injury. He did attempt to return to the game, but head coach Mike Vrabel decided to keep him on the sideline to prevent further damage. In Williams’ absence, the group had some ups and downs. It did play reasonably well against running back Breece Hall and picked up two sacks as well as a loose football on a botched Jets snap in the fourth quarter — Anfernee Jennings fell onto the fumble — but the unit also allowed quarterback Justin Fields to gain 67 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. |
Grade: C
Linebacker: With No. 1 wide receiver Garrett Wilson out with a knee injury, the expectation was that the Jets would rely heavily on the aforementioned Breece Hall ass well as their tight end group led by Mason Taylor to move the ball. They did actively try to get them involved, with Hall, Taylor and fellow tight end Jeremy Ruckert seeing a combined 11 passes coming their way. However, the Patriots’ second-level defenders led by Robert Spillane and Jack Gibbens were up for the task. The same was true in the running game, with the Jets’ longest attempt — a Justin Field scramble — gaining only 14 yards. |
Grade: A
Cornerback: The Jets’ aerial attack was one of the least efficient in the NFL entering Thursday, and it did not pose much of a threat to the Patriots’ cornerback group. In fact, outside of John Metchie catching three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown — with most of his production coming against safeties — New York’s wideouts finished with just two catches for 12 yards on 10 targets. Christian Gonzalez and company were in lockdown mode, even though they were aided by Justin Fields’ accuracy issues and Adonai Mitchell letting a would-be big play go through his hands (although Gonzalez’s coverage might have helped with that). On the whole, tough, a good game. |
Grade: A
Safety: John Metchie was the Jets’ most productive receiver on the night, as noted above, and his two biggest plays came with safety Craig Woodson matched up against him. The first, a 22-yard touchdown, saw the defender trip and fall, while the second saw Metchie simply get open on a crossing route. That said, on the whole the position group had a solid outing highlighted by Dell Pettus breaking up a fourth-down pass in the late fourth quarter against tight end Jeremy Ruckert. |
Grade: B-
Special teams: Fresh off a two-touchdown performance, the Jets’ kicking game operation failed to tip the scales in the team’s favor on Thursday. New England’s coverage crew simply was on point throughout the night, getting downfield quickly and swarming the returners on both kickoffs and punts. The only blemish of Week 11 was rookie kicker Andy Borregales missing a 45-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter that would have given the team a bit more breathing room heading into the half. |
Grade: B+
The Patriots’ performance as a whole was best summed up by cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who met with the media after the game.
“A short week is always hard, but we embraced it,” Gonzalez said. “It is a division game, like we talked about all week. It is going to be a battle no matter what; it’s a division game. They are going to come in here and play hard. So, as a defense, I feel like we let up a little bit, but we were able to get stops when it mattered. So, it felt good to come in here and get a win, and in front of the home crowd, it’s always good to give them something to cheer about.”
How would you grade the Patriots’ performance in Week 11? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.
11) D. Maye pass short right to K. Williams for 72 yards, TOUCHDOWN. At the line of scrimmage, Maye makes a check pre-snap following Mack Hollins’ motion. New England runs a Yankee concept (deep over paired with a crosser) off play-action with max protection. Maye is left to read the post-safety, who jumps to Hollins’ deep over which leaves Kyle Williams one-on-one on the crosser. The throw is perfectly on the money despite pressure on Maye’s arm side which allows Williams to haul it in in stride and do the rest with his 4.40-second speed.
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