Patriots position grades from win over Saints in Week 6

Coming off an electric primetime victory over the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots traveled to New Orleans for a meeting with a one-win Saints team. The focus throughout the week was clear: don’t fall into the trap.

The Patriots didn’t, and as a result managed to leave Louisiana with a third straight W in hand. And while the 25-19 showing might not have been as impressive as the one against the Bills, it still saw a team capable of taking care of business in a challenging environment and with the stakes seemingly not quite as high.

The game itself saw plenty of noteworthy performances, and — as a look at our weekly positional grades shows — a solid outing across the board.

Patriots position grades for Week 6

Quarterback: Six weeks into his sophomore season, there is little question that the Patriots have found their QB. Against the Saints, Drake Maye again performed at a high level, completing 18 of 26 passes for 261 yards and a trio of touchdowns; he also was the team’s leading rusher with 32 yards resulting in an EPA/play score of 0.56 — good enough for the 96 percentile of quarterback performances since 2010. The 23-year-old again brought the goods: he looked confident running the offense, made good decisions, showcased his immense arm and athletic talent, and performed well under pressure. It was an all-around good game reminiscent of the glory days. | Grade: A

Running back: The first game after losing Antonio Gibson to a torn ACL saw the Patriots rely heavily on Rhamondre Stevenson. However, neither he nor TreVeyon Henderson made much of an impact on the game: the two combined to gain just 54 yards on 23 touches in the running and passing game. Their production is directly tied to their surroundings, of course, but they also did little to elevate them. Credit where credit is due, though. Ball security was fine, although both dropped one pass, while Stevenson looked good in pass protection. | Grade: C

Wide receiver: After the Stefon Diggs show last week, it was time for the Patriots’ third-year wideouts to show what they can do. Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas both had big games: Boutte caught five passes for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his return to Louisiana, while Douglas went 3-71-1 in his most notable performance of the season so far. They were not the only receivers looking good, though; Diggs and Mack Hollins had good moments as well, and that is before accounting for the former losing a 51-yard reception on a bogus pass interference call (something that also happened on what would have been a 61-yard TD to Douglas). | Grade: A

Tight end: New England’s tight ends had a relatively quiet day outside of Hunter Henry catching three passes for 27 yards and Austin Hooper adding a 5-yarder. What has to be said, though, is that their presence at the line of scrimmage did little to help the Patriots’ struggling run game: Henry and Hooper played 26 and 25 run block snaps, respectively, but even with them in as extra bodies the team could not get going on the ground. | Grade: C+

Offensive line: Even though he was sacked only once — a play that was effectively him not getting back to the line of scrimmage on a scramble drill — Drake Maye found himself under some form of duress for much of the afternoon: he was pressured on 15 of 31 dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. In addition, the Patriots’ running game was going nowhere throughout the day, with six attempts ending in a loss of yards. The O-line has been a pleasant surprise so far this season, especially given that it is starting an all-rookie left side and four new starters overall, but it remains a work in progress as a whole particularly on the ground. | Grade: C-

Defensive line: Giving up 73 yards on 20 carries on the day, the Patriots’ run defense continues to be sound and limit explosives. New Orleans did create a solid push at times inside and also found some success on perimeter runs, primarily away from Harold Landry, but the unit as a whole — in particular Khyiris Tonga — stood firm enough. It also applied constant pressure versus quarterback Spencer Rattler: PFF had him with 14 pressures on 30 dropbacks, including eight courtesy of K’Lavon Chaisson. | Grade: B

Linebacker: Christian Elliss’ forced fumble midway through the fourth quarter was one of the Patriots’ best defensive plays of the day, and another positive moment for a linebacker group that has begun trending in the right direction. The one stat that stands out is missed tackles: for the first time all season, the group’s tackling was perfect. Rattler did find some space attacking the underneath zones in the passing game, but all in all this was an encouraging showing. | Grade: B

Cornerback: Marcus Jones continues to be one of the Patriots’ most valuable defenders, once again rising to the challenge in coverage while also leaving his mark as a blitzer. The rest of the Patriots’ CB gang — Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Charles Woods; the latter of whom breaking up a pass that also could have been ruled a forced fumble — was solid as well. As an aside, New England did play more zone coverage than it did last week. | Grade: B+

Safety: With Jaylinn Hawkins sidelined, the Patriots relied on Kyle Dugger to fill his spot in the starting lineup. The veteran and former team captain settled in, but not after being slow to replace Carlton Davis on a corner blitz resulting in a 53-yard gain on the Saints’ first play from scrimmage and also bouncing off Chris Olave on a shoulder tackle attempt at one point. In the end, though, both he and rookie Craig Woodson looked solid as the new starting duo in the backend. | Grade: B-

Special teams: The aforementioned Antonio Gibson being out for the year meant that the Patriots had to shake up their return game. Instead of him and TreVeyon Henderson, New England used Efton Chism and Terrell Jennings as the deep men and they looked solid — something that can also be said for the kickoff coverage team as well as for punter Bryce Baringer and kicker Andy Borregales. On the flip side, the unit was penalized three times and allowed Rashid Shaheed to average 10.5 yards per punt return. | Grade: B-

The grades might be a bit lower than last week against Buffalo, but make no mistake: this was still a quality win for the team. They can’t all be complete 60-minute efforts or see spot-on execution across the board. There is a lot to be happy about.

How would you grade the Patriots’ performance in Week 6, though? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.

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