FOXBORO — The message from Mike Vrabel and the Patriots’ coaches all week was simple.
Get back to basics.
Four quarters later, it was mission accomplished — and then some.
“Just proud of the guys. I thought they played hard,” Pats quarterback Drake Maye said after Sunday’s 42-13 win. “We get back to our fundamentals and kind of back to establishing our identity. I felt like we did that. Probably didn’t hurt ourselves.”
Maye certainly did his part, going without a turnover for the second time in four games this season. He also fired just three incompletions on 17 attempts. Maye took plays that were available, but didn’t force the ball against a Carolina defense that offered him plenty of chances to attack downfield.
The Patriots also rushed for 4.4 yards per carry on hand-offs to their running backs, who churned out a couple explosive plays. Like Maye, Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson bounced back with a turnover-free performance Sunday after they lost the ball in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh. Gibson, Maye and rookie TreVeyon Henderson all rushed for touchdowns, a reflection of smart running and strong offensive line play that set the tone for a straightforward win built on a simple plan.
“I think those five (linemen) are playing their tails off; playing their butts off in the run game, in the passing game, learning the protection system, learning third down, different looks,” Maye said. “(Center) Garrett (Bradbury)’s communicating with me basically on the front getting into different plays. Can’t be more proud of those guys up front.”
As a team, the Patriots took just seven penalties, a total that was almost half of some previous games. Defensively, the Patriots tackled better. But after giving up an opening-drive touchdown, Vrabel still saw room for improvement.
“We have to continue to disguise better and tackle better and all those things. I guess, if that’s the tradeoff for playing great defense the rest of the way, then we’ll have to go through those growing pains early in the game,” he said. “I don’t anticipate that we should. It was good to see us respond, and we’ve done that.”
