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Patriots stock up, stock down following Week 10 win vs. Browns: Mac Jones continues to ascend

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The New England Patriots made it four wins in a row on Sunday after blowing out the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium, 45-7. This now has Bill Belichick’s team truly in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC and is arguably the hottest team in the NFL at the moment. Not only are the Patriots stacking up wins, but they are doing it in impressive fashion. The Browns were able to get on the board first with an opening touchdown drive, but after that the Patriots rolled, scoring 45 unanswered points while the defense shut down Cleveland’s offense for the bulk of the game.Β 

Next up, New England will have a short week as they’ll head down to Atlanta to face the Falcons in hope of keeping this streak alive. Before we truly dive into that matchup, let’s take a look back at this most recent win and take the temperature of where various players on the roster are at coming out of Week 10.Β 

The young quarterback continues to improve with each passing week. On Sunday, he put together his first three-touchdown performance of his career and made a number of high-level throws in the process. One of the more impressive on the day was his 23-yard strike to Kendrick Bourne for a touchdown in the second quarter. Jones was able to fit the ball in between two Browns defenders and put it in a spot where Bourne was able to make an astounding catch.Β 

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As has been the case for the bulk of the season, Jones was also extremely efficient with his throws, completing 19 of his 23 pass attempts on the day for 198 yards. The bulk of that came in the first half when Jones completed 13 of 15 for 134 yards. This was Jones’ fifth game with a passer rating over 100, which is first among first-round rookies from his draft class.Β 

Rhamondre Stevenson took the lion’s share of carries for the Patriots in Week 10 with starting running back Damien Harris out with a concussion. In his absence, the rookie totaled 100 yards rushing on 20 carries and two touchdowns. He also was a factor in the passing game, catching four of his five targets for 14 yards. What makes that performance even more impressive is that Stevenson had not practiced all week as he was in concussion protocol and was only cleared over the weekend. That ability to move the ball is obviously an encouraging sign for his prospects going forward with the Patriots, but what will likely earn him more playing time is his improved development in pass protection. He allowed no pressures on Sunday against the Browns.Β 

Stock down: Punt return

This was the only area that struggled for the Patriots in Week 10 and will be fixed once the club’s No. 1 punt returner Gunner Olszewski returns after missing Sunday’s game with a concussion. In his place, Jakobi Meyers took over punt return duties and while he didn’t make any game-altering mistakes, it wasn’t as efficient as it should have been. He fair caught one punt and allowed three others to roll out of bounds or down the field for the Browns to touch. Had he made the fair catch on some of those punts, New England would have been working with better field position.Β 

Stock up: Jakobi Meyers

Welcome to the end zone, Jakobi Meyers! At long last, the Patriots receiver finally scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win. Brian Hoyer hit Meyers on the right side of the field, and the third-year receiver was able to shed his defender and raced 11 yards for the score. This was a long time coming for Meyers as he had set an NFL record for most receiving yards to begin a career without scoring a touchdown.Β 

Immediately upon scoring, the entire Patriots sidelined raced to the end zone to celebrate with Meyers.Β 

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The entire defense was dominant for the Patriots on Sunday, but Kyle Dugger was the one who really sparked the blowout. The safety was able to jump out in front of a short throw by Baker Mayfield in the opening seconds of the second quarter and pick off the Browns quarterback while returning the ball 37 yards down the field. That immediately gave the Patriots the ball at the Cleveland 5-yard line and it took just five seconds for the offense to get into the end zone, courtesy of a Rhamondre Stevenson rush.Β 

Dugger finished his day with a team-high eight tackles to go along with that interception.Β 

The Mac Jones-Hunter Henry combination continues to be lethal for the Patriots over this winning streak. The duo connected for two more touchdowns in Sunday’s win over Cleveland, giving them seven on the season. These two sparking up this rapport has been vital to the team’s success over this winning streak as they’ve been able to execute in the red zone at a much more efficient degree. Over the last four weeks, New England owns a 73.6% conversation rate in the red zone compared to the 44.4% rate they had over the first six weeks. A large part of that is thanks to Henry coming alive.Β 

While Henry has made his money in the red area, the connection with Jones is popping up in the middle of the field as well. The rookie had one of his better throws of the day when targeting Henry in the third quarter on a sideline throw in coverageΒ 

Henry’s career-high for touchdowns is eight which came back in his rookie season and he looks well on his way to shatter that mark in 2021.Β 

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With Caitlin Clark running the show, Iowa's range is limitless

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The laws of shooting don’t apply to Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who presents a unique challenge for defending champion South Carolina.



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NFL Analyst Comments On A Confusing Trey Lance Narrative

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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

 

The quarterback controversy continues for the San Francisco 49ers.

Last offseason, it was a battle between incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, who was coming off his rookie season.

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Now, with new starter Brock Purdy recovering from surgery on a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, there are again calls from some to start Lance.

Lance certainly has potential and could very well become a very good QB, but he has started just four pro games so far, which hasn’t given him enough time to develop, let alone show what he will be capable of doing.

Going back further, he played only one full season of college football at North Dakota State University in the FCS subdivision.

Some are already calling him a bust, but JJ Zachariason says not so fast.

The 49ers gave up three first-round draft picks two years ago to acquire the third selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, which they used on Lance.

Given how much capital they gave up in order to get him, it made some sense for them to give him the starting job over Garoppolo last summer.

In Week 1, the Niners lost on the road to the Chicago Bears, and although Lance didn’t play terribly, some felt he was lackluster.

However, it should be pointed out that he played poorly in the second half, during which Soldier Field was hit with a very strong rainstorm that made conditions on the gridiron very difficult.

The following week, Lance suffered a severe ankle injury, and there went his season.

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Purdy is expected to be able to throw a football again in early June, but since it is unknown if he will be ready for Week 1 of the 2023 campaign, let alone training camp, Lance could get another opportunity under center next season.

The post NFL Analyst Comments On A Confusing Trey Lance Narrative appeared first on The Cold Wire.





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Damar Hamlin Reacts To Meeting President Biden

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(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

 

One of the most physically demanding and brutal sports in this country is football, and this year that became abundantly clear when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin almost lost his life on the gridiron during a game.

The sports world came to a halt when Hamlin collapsed during a Bills game, with the then-23-year-old motionless on the football field and looking as if he was never going to get up.

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Fortunately, after one of the scariest moments in NFL history, Hamlin was able to make a full recovery in the hospital.

Hamlin has since become an inspirational figure and recently paid a visit to the White House to speak with President Biden.

The Bills safety was incredibly grateful for the time with President Biden and took to Twitter to show his gratitude by replying to his tweet about the team getting to talk.

Player safety in the NFL, along with all other sports in this country, became a significant concern following what happened to Hamlin on the football field.

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It’ll be interesting to see what changes may come in the near future in the NFL as a result of this on-the-field incident and whether Hamlin decides to continue his football career.

With football being as brutal as it is, even with all the rules to protect players these days, it is pretty surprising that this hasn’t happened more often.

Hopefully, Hamlin continues to advocate for player safety as well as spread his message to those that need to hear it.

The post Damar Hamlin Reacts To Meeting President Biden appeared first on The Cold Wire.





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