Who stood out and struggled vs. NY Jets

New England Patriots

Drake Maye, Stefon Diggs, and Jaylinn Hawkins made big plays in the blowout win against New York.

The Patriots were dominant from start to finish on Sunday, putting up 21 unanswered points to start the game against the Jets.

New England’s passing game could not be stopped. Drake Maye looked like he had all day in the pocket. He threw five touchdowns and found himself on the bench by the third quarter because the Patriots were up by so much.

A perfect passer rating is 158.3. Maye finished at 157.0. He spread the ball around efficiently and didn’t commit any turnovers. Backup quarterback Josh Dobbs was sharp as well.

Other than a 59-yard touchdown run from Breece Hall, New York wasn’t able to generate much offense against the Patriots defense. New England had just one sack, and forced one turnover, but they swallowed up the run game and smothered New York’s receivers in coverage.

Here’s a look at who stood out and struggled in the lopsided win against the Jets.

Stock Up

Drake Maye

Maye was about as close to perfect as it gets in this game. He completed all but two of his passes. He got some help on a spectacular catch from Stefon Diggs, but for the most part, New York gave him too much time and he picked the Jets apart. All five of Maye’s touchdowns went to a different receiver. He was accurate from short and long range.

He even stayed engaged on the sideline, lobbying the refs for a call when Kyle Williams was whistled out of bounds on a throw he hauled in from Dobbs.

Stefon Diggs

With yet another 100-yard performance, Diggs is now on the cusp of his seventh 1,000 yard season in eight years. He got going with short in-breaker routes and was productive in the deep game. He turned around and reached over New York’s Qwan’tez Stiggers for a two-handed catch and somehow got both feet down as he was pushed backwards. He caught all six of the passes thrown his way.

Jaylinn Hawkins

Hawkins was the only Patriots defender to force a turnover, intercepting a wobbly, underthrown pass from Brady Cook. The Patriots pass-rush was nowhere near Cook, who threw the ball with two Patriots defensive backs in the area of the one receiver he was targeting. Still, the play showed Hawkins’s playmaking abilities. He had forced a big turnover last week against Baltimore, too, punching the ball out from Derrick Henry in a key situation.

Dell Pettus

Pettus, a reserve defensive back, was the only Patriot with a sack on Sunday. He tied with Jahani Tavai for the team lead in tackles (6) and recorded a tackle for loss. He got an extended opportunity during this blowout and he made the most of it.

The entire offensive line

Maye looked super comfortable with the protection that his offensive line was giving him. He didn’t have to use his running ability much at all. He was able to just stand around in the pocket and make reads, a sign that the big guys up front were doing their jobs. They opened up holes in the run game. They got downfield on screen passes. They allowed one sack all day.

Rhamondre Stevenson

Stevenson scored a pair of touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Only Diggs had more receiving yards than him in this game for New England. He averaged almost six yards per carry on the ground. A nice, balanced, versatile game for the power back.

Stock Flat

Jack Gibbens

A solid game for Gibbens, who has filled in nicely for Robert Spillane over the last few weeks. Five tackles, three solo, one tackle for loss. His numbers took a slight dip compared to the last two weeks, but this certainly wasn’t a bad effort.

TreVeyon Henderson

Henderson got one of his biggest workloads of the season, tying his season high of 19 carries. He was solid, picking up 4.3 yards per carry and 82 total yards but below average by his standards. He’s a home run hitter, but there weren’t any home runs to hit on the ground today. His longest run went for 17 yards.

Stock Down

Christian Barmore

The only player on New England’s defense who did not record a tackle. Zero tackles. Zero sacks. One quarterback hit. One shot from the TV cameras of him jawing with Mike Vrabel just before halftime. Not a productive day for one of the Patriots’ best players.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.