Foxborough, MA – The Patriots extended their winning streak to five games in a 32-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

Heading into the game, we knew two things about the Browns. Cleveland's defense is legit with perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett living up to the hype and then some (five sacks). And two, the Browns offense, particularly its passing offense, is limited. Really, the only path to victory for Cleveland was a Patriots turnover-fest a la the Browns 31-6 win over the Dolphins last week: if the Patriots played a clean game, they'd probably win.

The expectation was that the Patriots would manage the game offensively and win the game on defense and special teams. You know, one of those where it was something like a 21-13 or 17-10 final, but the game was more lopsided than the final score indicated. Instead, the Patriots dominated in the second half to turn Sunday's game into a rout, scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the third quarter to build a 30-7 lead.

After another slower start on the opponent's opening drive, which we'll get to, the Patriots defense held the Browns offense to three first downs on their next seven possessions. Then, there's QB Drake Maye, who built on an MVP resume eight weeks through his second season with a perfect second-half passer rating (8-8, 114 yards, 3 TDs). In 49 games under DC Jim Schwartz, Schwartz's Browns defense has never allowed a higher drop-back success rate than Maye's on Sunday (54.5%). For all the talk about him doing it against better defenses, Maye delivered in the second half and was even averaging 10.5 yards per attempt in the first half.

The question on everyone's mind while New England rolled through a softer stretch in their schedule is, how real are they? What makes this Patriots team, which now has its longest winning streak since the 2021 season, different from that 2021 squad that flamed out down the stretch after dominating weaker opponents to pile up 10 wins? The short answer, of course, is Maye. His raw talent is far superior to any quarterback the Patriots have had since Tom Brady. The Pats current quarterback can elevate the offense beyond what Cam Newton, Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe could when it felt like those QBs were leading the Patriots back to contention for fleeting moments.

However, the longer answer is that we'll have to wait and see. In 2021, the Patriots started 9-4. Then, they lost four of their last five games before crashing out in the playoffs against the Bills in a 47-17 blowout loss. As for this Patriots team, only time will tell if the winning is more sustainable. Still, one thing is for sure: With head coach Mike Vrabel and Maye at the top of the letterhead, it feels like New England is building toward something pretty special.

Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 6-2 on the season with an impressive win over the Browns – it was good to be back home.

1. Play(s) of the Game: OC Josh McDaniels Scripts Perfect Third-Quarter Touchdown Drive

After taking a 9-7 lead into halftime, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was unfazed by the offense's first-half performance.

The Patriots scored nine points with three drives stalling inside the Cleveland 25-yard line. They were moving the ball, but a first-half interception and settling for three field goals had the offense wanting more. McDaniels settled down his troops in the halftime locker room, and the group responded with a 21-point third quarter.

"He was -- his demeanor at halftime, he could tell that he was calming us down. He knew that we were good," Maye said after the game. Then, McDaniels scripted his best scoring drive of the season, where he went deep into his bag to take a 16-7 lead following the 7-play, 77-yard touchdown drive on the Pats first possession of the second half.

"Just classic Coach McDaniels drive. He's just dialing it up multiple times and getting guys open and really making it easy for me. He's done it his whole life, and I feel like he was put on this earth to be an offensive coordinator. It was fun to be in the headset with him," Maye added.

On the scoring drive, McDaniels diversified the rushing approach. The Pats got rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson into space on a crack toss (FB lead) that gained 27 yards. With TE Hunter Henry cracking the end, the Patriots got Henderson to the edge with FB Jack Westover leading in front of the speedy rookie. Right tackle Morgan Moses, RG Mike Onwenu, and LG Jared Wilson all executed blocks downfield, and Henderson cut back inside the over-pursuing Browns defense for his longest gain of the year.

On the following play, the Patriots dialed up a double pass where Maye pitched the ball to RB Rhamondre Stevenson, who threw it back to Maye to throw downfield. WR Stefon Diggs cleared out the coverage for wideout Mack Hollins to run a shallow crosser, and Maye hit Hollins for a 19-yard gain.

Once in the red zone, the Patriots used a two-play sequence to scheme open Henry for an easy score on National Tight Ends Day. First, the Pats ran a jet sweep for eight yards to WR DeMario Douglas. Then, they ran the same jet motion the next play, causing the Browns defense to collapse, allowing Henry to sneak out into the flat on the Y-delay off the bootleg.

The entire drive was a master stroke by McDaniels, who saw his offense standing in the middle of the ring with a good defense and pulled out all the stops. The score out of halftime put the Patriots up by nine points, effectively ending the game against a weaker Browns offense. On Sunday, McDaniels got the better of Schwartz with terrific play-calling in the second half.

2. Patriots QB Drake Maye Heats Up in Three-Touchdown Third Quarter

Although it was tough sledding in a terrific first-half by the Browns defense, QB Drake Maye heard MVP chants from the home crowd following a trifecta in the third quarter.

The Patriots second-year quarterback found open receivers in the first two quarters when he was well protected, averaging 10.5 yards per attempt, but Maye threw his first interception since Week 3 and was strip-sacked by Garrett (Pats recovered). Maye's interception came when Browns LB Carson Schwesinger popped out of the rush into a short zone, and Maye didn't see him fall underneath a crosser to WR Stefon Diggs on what has become a rarity: a turnover-worthy play by the Patriots QB (only one TWP in his previous four games).

After an up-and-down first half, where the Browns defense deserves credit for causing chaos, Maye lit up the Cleveland defense for three third-quarter TDs. The Pats QB finished the game 18-of-24 for 282 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Maye also had 50 rushing yards on seven attempts, adding +0.31 expected points added per play (79th percentile). In the second half, Maye added +0.91 EPA per play (-0.10 EPA per play in the first half).

With the Patriots up 23-7 in the third quarter, Maye put the game away with an MVP-like two-play sequence: a 28-yard scramble followed by a 39-yard touchdown pass. On the 28-yard scramble, Maye catches the Browns in man coverage, and the seas part for the Pats QB to scramble against a juicy scramble coverage. Schwesinger had RB Rhamondre Stevenson in man coverage, but with Stevenson staying in to block, Schwesinger adds to the rush, and Maye runs right by the Browns rookie for an explosive gain.

On the following play, the Patriots ran two verticals to Maye's left against a quarters coverage, which left WR Kayshon Boutte 1-on-1 against Browns CB Dom Jones. Boutte ran by Jones on a stutter-and-go double move, and Maye threw a beautiful deep ball into the bucket – blouses.

"We worked into the boundary, and Kayshon liked it on that side. We worked on that side during the [practice] week. So we just kept it to that side. He made a great, great move on them and just trying to give him a chance. I thought I overthrew it again, but he made a nice adjustment to it and a great catch," Maye said of the touchdown pass to Boutte.

In the second half, Maye finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3: 8-for-8, 114 yards, three touchdowns. Oh, he also added 34 rushing yards in the final two quarters. If you were waiting for Maye to play well against a good defense, well, MVP? Maye is in the conversation, for sure.

3. Patriots Defense Dominates After a Browns Touchdown on Opening Script

The Patriots defense followed a similar script in Sunday's game, where the opposing offense starts hot with an opening-drive score and then New England settles into the game defensively.

On Sunday, the Browns offense went 70 yards in six plays for an opening-drive score, with Cleveland hitting three chunk gains of 19, 31, and an 18-yard touchdown. From there, the Browns managed just three first downs until garbage time in the fourth quarter. Again, that's three explosives on the first drive to three first downs on Cleveland's next seven drives.

On the first two explosives, the Browns anticipated man coverage and hit a shallow crossing route (third down) and a jet sweep to WR Malachi Corley – two man-beaters. Then, the Browns anticipated getting zone coverage in the high red zone, which the Pats play 55.6% of the time from that field position, and flooded the deep-third of New England's cover-three blitz zone for an 18-yard touchdown.

On the 19-yard crosser to TE Harold Fannin Jr. on third-and-11, the Browns ran off the frontside of the concept with verticals while Fannin filled in underneath on the shallow crosser. With the Patriots in man coverage, LB Marte Mapu has to track Fannin across the field through some traffic, and Mapu can't stay connected to Fannin as he breaks upfield for the first down.

In a microcosm of this Patriots defense, Cleveland came back to the same play in the second half on a third-and-7. This time, the Pats played the down in zone-match coverage (cover three), and Browns QB Dillon Gabriel likely anticipated man coverage like he got in the first quarter. According to LB Robert Spillane, Spillane had the running back in coverage. When the back stayed in to block, Spillane became a free player, so he was free to fall underneath the crosser by TE David Njoku, and Gabriel threw it right to Spillane for an interception that the Pats linebacker returned to the Browns six-yard line.

The Patriots defense has now given up points on six of their eight opening drives through the first eight games. Every week, we write that, eventually, New England's slow starts will cost them, but they just haven't against these limited offenses. Does Atlanta have enough sustainable offense? Tampa? Cincy? Buffalo? Baltimore? At some point, you gotta think that the Patriots defense will start slow and not be able to level off. Until then, we'll keep giving New England credit for having the secret sauce to settle down in these wins.

4. Browns DE Myles Garrett Registers Five Sacks vs. Patriots on Sunday

Although it was mostly positive for the Patriots offense, Garrett came as advertised with five sacks on Sunday, three in the first half and two more takedowns of Maye in the second half.

Based on initial viewing, three sacks were against LT Will Campbell, while LG Jared Wilson and RT Morgan Moses were responsible for one each. Campbell had only allowed 1.5 sacks in his first seven games, but Garrett got him three times on Sunday. Garrett is the toughest matchup Campbell will ever see, as we said before the game, the Browns defensive end has a case as the best pass-rushing defensive end in the history of football.

As for the matchup, the Patriots gave Campbell chip-help from the tight ends on traditional drop-backs. Still, Garrett skirted around TE Hunter Henry's chip blocks and then burst past Campbell with speed-dip rushes that caused the rookie left tackle to play with a short corner.

"He's a really good player. He beat me a few times, and that is just part of the game. He gets paid a lot of money, and he got me a couple times. I just had to keep coming back and keep fighting, which is why we got the win," Campbell told reporters post-game.

Honestly, it's hard to describe how freaky a mover Garrett is in the pass rush. The Pats rookie will learn from this matchup and won't see someone as dominant as Garrett again this season.

5. Rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson Breaks Out for Season-Best 75 Rushing Yards

Another positive development for the Patriots offense was that second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson had a breakout performance vs. the Browns stingy run defense. Henderson acknowledged that the coaches wanted to emphasize getting him the ball in space more, while it also behooved the Pats to run outside the tackles away from the strength of Cleveland's run defense.

As a result, Henderson carried the ball seven times for 68 yards on outside runs, gaining 9.7 yards per rush with two runs over 10 yards. Henderson's usage and pacing to allow his blocks to develop were much improved, giving the rookie something to build on moving forward. Henderson fumbled in the fourth quarter, so there's room for improvement, but the positives outweigh the negatives for the rookie.

6. WR Stefon Diggs Scores First TD as a Patriot as Strong Play for WR Group

Based on his teammates' reaction, it meant a lot that Diggs finally found the end zone in a Patriots uniform. Diggs is having a huge hand in turning this position group from a weakness into a strength, both on and off the field, adding three catches for 14 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.

"I think I was happier than him. If you look back at the film, I ran from the right side to the left. Two plays before, we were at the goal line, and he was one yard away. I think it happened like that at Buffalo too, just a couple yards away. Great player, great guy. I love him, I think it was good for everybody," said WR Kayshon Boutte on Diggs's touchdown.

Along with Diggs, Boutte continued to shine with a 39-yard touchdown and a key 21-yard catch that put the Patriots back into field goal range before the half. WR DeMario Douglas added a 44-yard explosive gain, and WR Mack Hollins led the team with seven catches for 89 yards. It's truly remarkable how much this group has improved from last year to this season, a testament to everyone involved: the personnel department, the coaching staff, and most importantly, the players.

7. EDGE Keion White a Healthy Inactive, DT Christian Barmore Sits Out First Quarter

The Patriots performance was overwhelmingly positive, but there were two interesting developments on the defensive line this week.

First, DE Keion White was inactive. While only playing 40.1% of the defensive snaps this season, White's skill set hasn't lent itself to rushing over the offensive tackle on the edge of the defense, with only three total pressures in 76 pass-rush snaps this season. On the one hand, White's linear rushing style as an edge defender doesn't appear to fit the Patriots current defensive system. However, he did rank first among qualified rushers in pressure rate as an interior pass-rusher last season (16.2%). White could be valuable pass-rush depth if there were to be an injury to top DTs Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, but with continued good health on the defensive line, there aren't enough snaps to go around for White to rush on the interior.

As for Barmore, head coach Mike Vrabel said the following about the star DT sitting out the first quarter: "I had to make a decision. My job is to protect the team. When there are actions that I don't feel like are [in line] with what we want to do here, I got to make a decision — and we move on," said Vrabel. Based on Vrabel's comments, it doesn't sound like any discipline for Barmore will be long-term.

8. Special Teams Report From the Win Over the Browns

On a positive note, rookie kicker Andy Borregales continues a strong stretch by hitting all six of his kicks, including three field goals to come away with points in the first half. However, P Bryce Baringer had a 15-yard mishit punt, and the Patriots were called for three penalties on special teams. The face mask on coverage ace Brenden Schooler could've been offsetting penalties on the Browns returner, but the flags in the kicking game were notable on Sunday.

Overall, there are still some things for the Patriots to clean up, but it's hard to get too upset about the slow starts or some sloppiness on special teams when the result is a 19-point win.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer