Mike Vrabel’s attire made his message clear to anyone watching. Just days before taking on the Giants on Monday Night Football, he took to the podium at Gillette Stadium with a shirt bearing the words “NO NAPS” on the chest.
The thought — one the Patriots head coach has conveyed to his team for weeks — is that there is no time for a letdown.
Seems as though his players heard him.
The Patriots dominated New York thoroughly on the scoreboard, 33-15, and they seemed to sprint through the finish en route to their Week 14 bye, displaying a level of physicality that fans could hear courtesy of the ESPN broadcast through their living room speakers.
With a week off ahead, the Patriots can afford to get a little rest. They’re the first team in the NFL to 11 wins, and they’re sitting atop the AFC. Any naps they may engage in before getting back to work? Well earned.
Let’s get to What We Learned…
Marcus Jones can fly
Needing just one more return to officially qualify for the NFL’s top career average punt-return mark, Marcus Jones took his place atop the league’s all-time list in style.
His 94-yard punt return made the game 10-0 in the first quarter and gave Jones a career average of 14.6, well ahead of the all-time average leader, George McAfee (12.8), who played for the Bears in the 1940s.
Physicality on display
There were some massive collisions in this one, often initiated by the Patriots. Christian Elliss got the hitting started with a huge shot on quarterback Jaxson Dart along the sideline. It was a legal hit — Dart had a foot in the field of play when the hit was made — but the Giants took exception, jostling with Elliss along the sidelines.
That didn’t deter the Patriots’ willingness to lay the lumber.
Elliss later forced a fumble by kick returner Gunner Olszewski while combining with Marte Mapu to knock Olszewski from the game. Mapu had a hard hit over the middle of his own that forced an incompletion.
Christian Gonzalez got in on the action, too, with a firm shot along the boundary. Harold Landry nearly blew up Dart as the rookie passer slid inside the pocket to avoid making a bad situation worse.
Drake Maye elevates to MVP favorite
During the Patriots’ Monday night beatdown, the wiseguys from DraftKings bumped Drake Maye up to be the MVP favorite (-150), ahead of Matthew Stafford (+135). Made sense, since Maye was once again efficient as a human drive-extender.
“Want the pressure,” Maye said after. “Want the ball in my hands. Tried to show that all year and throughout my career… Just gotta be the same guy every day. Don’t try to change. Be myself. That’s what the guys like the most.”
Maye finished 24-for-31 with 282 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a passer rating of 126.0. He dropped dimes for touchdowns to Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams, and he leaned on Hunter Henry for four completions that went for 73 yards to lead the team.
Maye’s completion percentage over expected was +9.9 percent, according to NextGen, making it his seventh-most accurate game of the season by that metric.
Backup linemen, Josh McDaniels get it done
Maye was sacked three times in the game, but they were not game-altering negative plays. Backup left tackle Vederian Lowe and backup left guard Ben Brown (two penalties) played well enough to provide Maye — along with some help from tight ends and backs in protection — enough time to have one of his cleanest games of the season.
Credit goes to Josh McDaniels for orchestrating a varied offensive attack that helped keep the Giants away from New England’s franchise quarterback.
The Patriots offensive coordinator asked his rushing attack to produce early, and they averaged 4.1 yards per carry. He asked everyone to have a say in protecting Maye, and he asked Maye to get rid of the ball early.
That last request was a significant one, because dealing quickly is not typically Maye’s style. He holds onto the football longer than the average quarterback. But on Monday night, he changed.
According to NextGen Stats, Maye got rid of the ball in an average of 2.57 seconds, which was his quickest release time of the season. That helped keep pass-rushers Brian Burns (zero sacks) and Abdul Carter (one sack) at bay for much of the game.
The Giants also tried to blitz Maye, sending extra heat on 39 percent of his dropbacks, per NextGen. Maye did what he’s typically done against the blitz though, tuning it up for nine completions on 12 attempts for 148 yards and two scores.
Pole position at the bye
The Patriots have four games awaiting them after their upcoming week off. They’re in control of their own destiny not only to win the division but to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC for postseason play.
They’ll be without both Will Campbell (injured reserve, knee) and Milton Williams (IR, ankle) for spurts during the season’s last month, so they’ll have to continue to navigate those absences to two key players down the stretch. The coaching staff will want to use some of its free time to try to solve what has ailed this team on the field, such as the lack of production inside the red zone (one touchdown in five trips on Monday).
But they have admitted time and again that this is an exceptionally close team. The culture established by Vrabel has taken hold, and — with rest on the horizon — they are riding a wave of momentum that no one could have anticipated before the season began.
