Position grades from the Patriots’ win over the Jets

The New England Patriots. took care of business against the New York Jets on Sunday, living up to their status as a 13.5-point favorites by completely dismantling their opponent. The Patriots jumped to a 42-3 lead midway through the third quarter and ended up winning 42-10 after taking their foot off the gas down the stretch.

The game did not only see several noteworthy performances on both sides of the ball, but an impressive all-around outing from the newly-crowned AFC East champions.

Patriots position grades from NFL Week 17

Quarterback: Even if we are regarding the quality of the opponent — or lack thereof — Drake Maye was outstanding. He led the Patriots to six touchdowns in his six drives, and when he was pulled after the final TD had completed 19 of 21 passes for 256 yards with five touchdowns to five different receivers. He also posted 1.24 expected points added per play, the highest such mark in the NFL this season for a quarterback. The new MVP frontrunner was spectacular, and even his backup fared well: Joshua Dobbs went 3-for-4 for 30 yards in his one-and-a-half quarters of work. | Grade: A

Running back: The first game between the Patriots and Jets in Week 11 was the TreVeyon Henderson show. On Sunday, Rhamondre Stevenson had his day in the sun: the veteran, who missed that November meeting with a toe injury, finished with 102 scrimmage yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 touches. Henderson also remained actively involved, though, and led the team with 82 rushing yards. Even backup D’Ernest Johnson contributed 5 yards to what was a 156-yard outing on the ground for New England. | Grade: A

Wide receiver: Down starters Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins, the Patriots turned to rookies Kyle Williams and Efton Chism to take on a bigger workload. The pair delivered, catching a combined five passes for 50 yards and a Chism touchdown. The star of the show at wide receiver, however, was Stefon Diggs: the veteran caught all six of his targets for 101 yards and a score. The least prominently-featured of the bunch was DeMario Douglas, who played just nine snaps after carrying the questionable label into the game; he finished with one 10-yard reception. | Grade: A

Tight end: Facing some turnover at wide receiver, the Patriots decided to get both of their top tight ends actively involved in the passing game. They, too, rose. up to the occasion: Hunter Henry caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, while Austin Hooper finished with two receptions for 11 yards and a score. The pair also looked good in the blocking department, with Henry in particular standing out. Fullback/tight end hybrid Jack Westover, on the other hand, was more hit-and-miss before exiting the game with an ankle injury in the early fourth quarter. | Grade: A–

Offensive line: Even with left guard Jared Wilson out, the Patriots offensive line did not skip a beat against the Jets. The Patriots’ quarterbacks were hit just four times all game — including a roughing the passer penalty drawn by Drake Maye — while the running backs found big holes for much of the afternoon. That said, the running game was a bit streaky even before the team decided to mix up its personnel with the game already decided. | Grade: B+

Defensive line: Entering the game with sack leader Harold Landry sidelined because of a knee injury and with neither Milton Williams nor Khyiris Tonga available along the interior, the Patriots took down Jets quarterback Brady Cook only once. It did not matter, because they were still disruptive enough to make Cook’s like uncomfortable. They also held firm on the ground, despite giving up 164 yards on 28 carries: most of that production came when the game was already way out of hand. | Grade: A–

Linebacker: No Robert Spillane, no problem. While the rushing total mentioned above could have been a problem it really did not change the nature of the game: the Jets had only 50 yards on the ground at intermission, in large part because of the Jack Gibbens-led linebacker group making good reads at the second level and coming downhill quickly and decisively. | Grade: A

Cornerback: The Jets did some stat-padding in the second half and had a few positive plays against New England’s backups, but the first half was a no-contest — in large part because of a cornerback group shutting down the opposing wide receivers. Led by Pro Bowler Christian Gonzalez, the Patriots dominated in man-to-man situations and allowed Brady Cook to complete only a third of his attempts against man coverage. New York’s most dangerous receiver, Adonai Mitchell, was held to 22 yards on nine targets and three receptions. | Grade: A

Safety: Brady Cook entered Week 17 with a turnover-per-dropback rate of 5.8%, and it did not take him long to add to his tally. On just his third pass attempt of the day, he threw deep down the sideline only for Jaylinn Hawkins to come over for an easy interception. Hawkins and fellow starting safety Craig Woodson did not allow any deep passes and were actively involved in the blitz-heavy run plan. Both missed a tackle attempt, while backup run support was a bit too aggressive on Breece Hall’s long touchdown in the fourth quarter, but overall the performance was solid. | Grade: B+

Special teams: The Patriots’ return and coverage units played a solid game against what is a very competitive Jets unit, while both punter Bryce Baringer and kicker Andy Borregales positively contributed as well. That said, the latter missed his lone field goal attempt in the third quarter, hitting the right upright from 41 yards out, while New York was able to convert the firsts of its two fake punts in the same period. | Grade: B

All in all, the Patriots were the better team in virtually every area on Sunday. The grades above show it, and so does the lopsided final score: outside of a few minor hiccups here and there, they played a pretty flawless game.

How would you grade the Patriots’ performance in Week 17? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.