The New England Patriots simply cannot stop playing in “must win” games.
Bill Belichick’s squad entered Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers as a 3-4 team, needing a quality win to turn their fortunes around and climb back into contention in the AFC playoff race. In Week 9, they sat at 4-4, looking to grab their first out of conference win on the season to obtain their first winning record in well over a calendar year. They won both of those games with relative ease.
Now, entering Week 10, New England finds themselves preparing for a team that happens to be on an opposite trajectory to that of their own. The Cleveland Browns have lost three of their last five, but of course they find themselves with the same 5-4 record as New England, contending for the same AFC wild card spot.
As they have for the past two weeks, New England needs a victory over a quality opponent to prove to everyone but themselves that they are a real contender. Can they finally put those question marks to bed? Keep this page bookmarked and follow along to find out. Let’s dance!
November 14, 1:00p.m. ET | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA | Broadcast information
Pregame
Inactives
Patriots Inactives: RB Damien Harris, WR Gunner Olszewski, CB Shaun Wade, LB Ronnie Perkins, TE Jonnu Smith, OT Yasir Durant, QB Jarrett Stidham
Browns Inactives: CB Greedy Williams, S Richard LeCounte III, LB Tony Fields II, DE Takkarist McKinley, WR Ja’Marcus Bradley, DT Sheldon Day
The Patriots are without a few starters on Sunday. Running back Damien Harris, tight end Jonnu Smith, and return specialist Gunner Olszewski are all inactive. Joining them are inactive list staples Shaun Wade, Ronnie Perkins, and Yasir Durant, as well as recently activated quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
Slotting into the lineup to replace those listed above are offensive tackle Trent Brown, running back J.J. Taylor, tight end Devin Asiasi, and running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Defensive lineman Tashawn Bower and tight end Matt Lacosse were also both elevated from the practice squad on Saturday.
Coin Toss
The Patriots won the coin toss and deferred their chose to the second half. Baker Mayfield and the Browns offense start with the ball first.
First Quarter
Cleveland started with the ball at their own 16-yard line following a great special teams tackle from newcomer Calvin Munson. They started on the ground with D’Ernest Johnson, picking up five yards on first down. Austin Hooper picked up a first down on their next play, catching the ball and being stopped just past the sticks. Two plays later they returned to the ground with Johnson, who picked up three first downs over the next five plays, the third of which went for 19 yards and pushed the Browns into the red zone. On third-and-goal from the New England two yard line, Devin McCourty nearly intercepted Mayfield in the end zone but dropped it. That enticed Cleveland to go for it on fourth down, where Mayfield hit Hooper in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. Johnson gained 58 yards on four carries on Cleveland’s first drive. [Patriots 0 : 7 Browns]
A Brandon Bolden return set the Patriots offense up with the ball at their own 17-yard line. New England opened up with an offensive line group of Isaiah Wynn-Ted Karras-David Andrews-Shaq Mason-Trent Brown. A negative Rhamondre Stevenson run, and short gain on a running back screen set the Patriots up with a 3rd-and-8 situation. Jones was able to find Hunter Henry for 12 yards and move the chains. After another pair of runs, New England was forced to contend with a 3rd-and-6, where Jones hit Jakobi Meyers for seven yards and a first down. A first down holding call on Shaq Mason put the Patriots behind the chains, a theme over the past couple of weeks. Luckily for New England, runs by Kendrick Bourne and Stevenson erased that penalty and pushed New England passed mid field with another first down. A pass to Nelson Agholor, and run by Rhamondre Stevenson picked up another pair of first downs and pushed New England into the red zone. On the next set of downs, Jones took a sack and set New England up with another 3rd-and-long. Cue the old running back screen, and Brandon Bolden was able to pick up yet another first down and bring the Patriots down to the 3-yard line. On 2nd-and-goal, Jones hit his favorite red zone target Hunter Henry for a game tying touchdown. [Patriots 7 : 7 Browns]
Jalen Mills returned to the game on the Browns’ following drive. After a three yard run on first down, the first quarter ended. A fast and furious start for both offenses.
Second Quarter
The Patriots defense was able to force the Browns into a 3rd-and-7 situation, where Kyle Dugger intercepted Mayfield and returned it all the way down to the Cleveland 5-yard line. Rhamondre Stevenson crashed into the end zone on the next play. [Patriots 14 : 7 Browns]
A holding penalty on the kickoff set the Browns’ offense up at their own 12-yard line. They picked up a pair of quick first downs with passes to Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper. On their third set of downs they stalled, even with the benefit of a free play, as Mayfield was almost picked off by J.C. Jackson. They trotted out punter Jamie Gillan, who pinned the Patriots inside their own 1-yard line after a bad Jakobni Meyers decision not to field the punt.
Rhamondre Stevenson gave the Patriots some breathing room with a hard-fought five yard run. They kept it on the ground with their rookie, who picked up 22 yards on his next two carries. J.J. Taylor came on and picked up five yards over the next two plays, setting the Patriots up with another third down. They converted once again, with Kendrick Bourne picking up 11 yards on a laser from Jones. After taking a deep shot on first down, Taylor took a draw for a single yard to force the Patriots offense into another third-and-long. Would you believe me if I said they converted again? Well they did, this time with Jakobi Meyers beating Greg Newsome II for 26 yards. Two plays later, Mac Jones delivered another strike to Kendrick Bourne who went up and made a great 23-yard touchdown catch. An 11-play, 99-yard drive that goes for a touchdown had Mac Jones sitting at 90% passing with the Patriots offense a perfect 6/6 on third down. [Patriots 21 : 7 Browns]
With Nick Folk kicking off, the Browns were able to start their ensuing drive at the 33-yard line. Unfortunately for fans in Cleveland, they couldn’t do much with that field position, going three and out and punting. Kyle Van Noy forced a fumble on third down, but the Browns were able to recover.
Following a Jakobi Meyers fair catch, the Patriots offense started at their own 33-yard line with 3:48 left to play. Michael Onwenu came in for Trent Brown on the drive. Facing another third down early in the drive, Kendrick Bourne drew a pass interference penalty to convert for another first down. Rhamondre Stevenson picked up another 16 yards to push New England passed midfield, before Kendrick Bourne took his second rushing attempt for another first down. New England continued to pick up easy first downs until an Isaiah Wynn penalty pushed them back into a 1st-and-20, and eventually a 3rd-and-14. For the first time on the day, they couldn’t convert and settled for the field goal. Nick Folk was true from 38 yards out. [Patriots 24 : 7 Browns]
Jake Bailey came back on to kickoff, and his kick was returned to the Cleveland 23-yard line. Baker Mayfield dropped back to pass on first down and was strip sacked, with the ball eventually trickling out of bounds. That enticed the Browns to allow the clock to run out on the half. [HALFTIME – Patriots 24 : 7 Browns]
Third Quarter
J.J. Taylor opened the second half with a kickoff return to the Patriots’ 27-yard line. Browns’ defensive back A.J. Green stayed down on the field after the play and eventually walked off the field. New England wasn’t able to make much out of their first second half drive, losing seven yards and eventually punting. Jake Bailey got a quality roll on his punt that totaled 66-yards and pushed the Browns inside their own 15-yard line.
Cleveland picked up a fast first down with back-to-back D’Ernest Johnson touches. On their second set of downs, Cleveland was contended with converting on 3rd-and-2. They were stuffed for negative yards, making them 0/5 on third down on the day. They punted back to New England.
Starting with the ball at their own 8-yard line, New England immediately attacked Cleveland through the air with Nelson Agholor picking up 10 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Hunter Henry made an excellent over the shoulder catch for 19 more yards. Back to the running backs, Brandon Bolden nabbed 40 yards on back-to-back plays, moving the Patriots inside the red zone. A third Kendrick Bourne rush went for 17 more yards, before Stevenson capped off the drive with a two yard rushing touchdown. [Patriots 31 : 7 Browns]
More updates soon!