FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots remain atop the AFC East on Monday morning after demolishing the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Sunday.
The team racked up 32 points against the best defense in the NFL, with star quarterback Drake Maye throwing for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He added 50 yards with his legs.
Maye set a Patriots record once held by Tom Brady last week. This weekend, Browns defensive juggernaut Myles Garrett set a franchise record, sacking Maye five times. But it wasn’t enough to stop the dominant New England offense.
It was a slow start for the Patriots, but they really got things going in the third quarter when Maye threw a trio of touchdown passes to Hunter Henry, Stefon Diggs, and Kayshon Boutte. The defense also stepped up big, intercepting Cleveland’s quarterback twice, including an incredible one-handed grab by safety Jaylinn Hawkins.
0 of 10
And it’s that all-around team effort head coach Mike Vrabel is proud to see.
“I’m also proud of the totality of the team, and I know there is much more to improve, but we got stops in the second half and we scored touchdowns, and that is what the difference in the game was,” Vrabel said.
In the fourth quarter, the Gillette Stadium faithful chanted “MVP! MVP! MVP!” at Maye.
The second-year quarterback is having a sophomore surge, setting franchise records and racking up MVP-caliber stats.
“The fans have been awesome all season. It’s been really cool to see the difference from last year to this year, man, it’s been a journey, and they’ve been through it and the fans have been through it the last couple of years, and you know, credit to them,” Maye said. “You know the fans have been awesome, like I said, the best fans in the league, and they continue to show out every week.”
Maye is now the fifth quarterback to throw 200 or more passing yards with a passer rating of 100 or better in seven straight games. The only others to do that? Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Patrick Mahomes. That’s pretty good company. One of Maye’s top targets talked about his development as a player and a leader.
“The growth of Drake has just been awesome,” tight end Hunter Henry said. “Obviously, he’s going out there and playing at a high level right now. But just to see the growth from last year, it’s a lot of fun to go out there and play with him.”
Maye was able to rack up those stats despite being sacked six times yesterday. He also threw one interception.
“You might think you know the team might only be as good as the receivers and the quarterbacks work,” wide receiver Kayshon Boutte said. “No, we’re not going to sit there and run the ball 50 times a game, you know, you’ve got to balance the offense out. It’s just important to be there when he needs me.”
The Patriots are now 2-2 at home. They’re hoping they can get back over .500 at home when they host the Atlanta Falcons in Foxboro on Sunday afternoon.
The Patriots, now 6-2 overall, are tied with the Denver Broncos for the second-best record in the AFC. Only the Indianapolis Colts have been better at 7-1.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
