TEAM NOTES
- Patriots become first original AFL team to play in 1,000 games.
- Patriots have third 99-yard touchdown drive since 2000.
- Bill Belichick becomes fourth NFL coach to reach 250 wins with one team.
- Trent Brown returned to action with a start at right tackle.
- Matt Judon ties career high with 9 ½ sacks.
- Kendrick Bourne has three 10-yard runs and sets career-high in receiving yards.
- Jakobi Meyers scores first NFL touchdown.
- Rookie RB Rhamondre Stevenson makes his first career start, goes over 100 yards and scores two touchdowns.
PATRIOTS PLAY IN 1,000 GAME
New England played in their 1,000 game in franchise history (942 regular season games and 58 playoffs games) to become the first original AFL team to play in 1,000 games.
PATRIOTS SCORE ON A 99-YARD DRIVE IN SECOND QUARTER; THIRD DRIVE OF 99 YARDS SINCE 2000
The Patriots capped an 11-play 99-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from QB Mac Jones to WR Kendrick Bourne. It is the first 99-yard drive for New England since a 10-play, 99-yard drive that was culminated by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski vs. San Diego on Sept. 18, 2011. Since 2000, the Patriots have now had three drives of 99 yards. Brady completed a 99-yard touchdown pass to WR Wes Welker at Miami on Sept. 12, 2011. Those are the only 99-yard drive for the Patriots since 1980.
SUNDAY DRIVES
The Patriots offense had three 90-yard drives that resulted in touchdowns. The Patriots had an 11-play, 99-yard drive in the second quarter that resulted in a touchdown, an 8-play, 92-yard scoring drive and a 6-play, 95-yard scoring drive. It is the only time in the Bill Belichick era that the team has had three 90-play drives in a game.
PATRIOTS REGISTER 14TH PICK OF THE 2021 SEASON
The Patriots registered their 14th interception of the season and are tied for second in the NFL behind the 15 interceptions by Buffalo. In 2020, the Patriots tied for the NFL lead with Miami, New Orleans and Pittsburgh with 18 interceptions. The 2019 New England team led the NFL with 25 interceptions. Two teams have led the NFL in interceptions in three or more straight seasons: Kansas City (5 straight – 1966-70) and the New York Giants (3 straight – 1937-39). Overall, the Patriots have led the NFL in interceptions four times (2003, 2010, 2019 and 2020).
PATRIOTS EXTEND NFL RECORD TO 96 STRAIGHT GAMES SCORING IN FIRST HALF
The Patriots have gone 96 straight games (regular season and postseason) scoring in the first half, to extend an NFL record, following TE Hunter Henry's 3-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. The Patriots also own the second-longest streak at 82 games with a first half score (2006-11). The last time the Patriots failed to score in the first half was a 16-0 loss at home against Buffalo on Oct. 2, 2016.
PATRIOTS RUSH FOR SEASON HIGH 184 YARDS
The Patriots rushed for a season-high of 184 yards against a Cleveland defense that entered the game ranked third in the NFL, allowing just 84.8 rushing yards per game.
THE PATRIOTS OFFENSE SCORES OVER 40 POINTS FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2021
The Patriots scored 45 unanswered points in a 45-7 win after falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter. It is the second time in 2021 that the Patriots have scored over 40 points. The Patriots beat the New York Jets, 54-13 on Oct. 24, 2021.
THE PATRIOTS SCORED ON SEVEN OF THEIR NINE DRIVES
The Patriots scored on seven of their nine offensive drives, including all four drives in the first half. It is the second time in 2021 that the Patriots scored on every drive in the first half. The Patriots scored on all five of their first half drives in the win vs the New York Jets on Oct. 24, 2021. In that game, the Patriots scored on nine-of-11 offensive drives.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
BELICHICK BECOMES FOURTH COACH WITH 250 VICTORIES WITH ONE TEAM
Bill Belichick won his 250th regular-season game with the Patriots to tie Tom Landry (250) and become the fourth NFL coach with at least 250 career regular season wins with one team.
NFL HEAD COACHES WITH THE MOST REGULAR-SEASON WINS WITH ONE TEAM
Coach Team W L T
George Halas Chicago 318 148 31
Don Shula Miami 257 133 2
Bill Belichick New England 250 96 0
Tom Landry Dallas 250 162 6
Curly Lambeau Green Bay 209 104 21
MATTHEW JUDON TIED HIS CAREER-HIGH IN SACKS
Matthew Judon combined with Dont'a Hightower on a 9-yard sack of Cleveland QB Case Keenum in the third quarter to tie his single-season career high with 9 ½ sacks. He had 9 ½ sacks in 2019 with Baltimore.
KENDRICK BOURNE HAS THREE 10-YARD RUNS
WR Kendrick Bourne had a 15-yard run in the first quarter, an 11-yard run in the second quarter and a 17-yard run in the third quarter. He has five 10-yard runs in 2021. He had a 16-yard run at the New York Jets on Sept. 19 and a 12-yard run at Houston on Oct. 10. Prior to the 2021 season, Bourne never had a rushing attempt in his NFL career.
BOURNE FINISHES WITH 43 YARDS RUSHING
Bourne finished the game with 43 yards rushing on three carries. His 43 yards rushing are the fifth-best rushing total by a Patriots wide receiver in a game.
Most Rushing Yards by a Patriots Wide Receiver in a Game
66-yards by Cordarrelle Patterson on Dec. 23, 2018 vs. Buffalo
61-yards by Cordarrelle Patterson on Nov. 4, 2018 vs. Green Bay
48-yards by Darryl Stingley on Oct. 3, 1976 vs. Oakland
47-yards by Julian Edelman vs. Indianapolis on Nov. 18, 2012
43- yards by Kendrick Bourne vs. Cleveland Browns, Nov. 14, 2021
38-yards by Cordarrelle Patterson at Buffalo on Oct. 29, 2018
37-yards by Terry Glenn vs. Kansas City on Dec. 4, 2000
BOURNE HAS A CAREER-HIGH IN RECEIVING YARDS
Bourne caught 4 passes for a career-high 98 yards. His previous best was 96 yards vs. New Orleans on Sept. 26, 2021.
MEYERS SCORES FIRST NFL TOUCHDOWN
WR Jakobi Meyers scored his first NFL touchdown on an 11-yard pass from QB Brian Hoyer in the fourth quarter. It was his 135th career reception. He has scored on three 2-points plays.
HUNTER HENRY HAS SCORED IN SIX OF LAST SEVEN GAMES
TE Hunter Henry capped the Patriots first offensive drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from QB Mac Jones and has now caught a touchdown pass in six of the last seven games. He added a 3-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter from Jones. Henry's seven touchdowns in 2021 are second to the eight he had as a rookie in 2016 with the Chargers.
HENRY HAS SECOND CAREER TWO-TOUCHDOWN GAME
Henry had his second career two-touchdown game. He had his first career two-touchdown game vs. Pittsburgh on Oct. 13, 2019 when he was with the Chargers.
HENRY HAS SEVEN TOUCHDOWNS THROUGH FIRST 10 GAMES
Henry has seven touchdowns through the first 10 games, the most since Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski each had seven through the first 10 games of the 2015 season.
ROOKIE RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON HAS CAREER DAY
RB Rhamondre Stevenson made his first NFL start and had a career-day. He had his first career 100-yard game and his first two-touchdown game. Stevenson finished with 100 yards on 20 carries for a 5.0-yard average. He scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter and a 2-yard run in the third quarter. It is the fourth 100-yard game for the Patriots in 2021. Damien Harris has three 100-yard games.
DUGGER'S 37-YARD INTERCEPTION RETURN SETS UP A SECOND-QUARTER TOUCHDOWN
DB Kyle Dugger picked off a QB Baker Mayfield pass in the second quarter and returned it 37-yards to the Cleveland 5-yard line to set up a 5-yard touchdown run by RB Rhamondre Stevenson on the very next play. It was Dugger's third interception of the season
MAC JONES THROWS THREE TOUCHDOWNS; FOURTH MULTI-TD GAME OF 2021
QB Mac Jones had his first career three-touchdown performance. It marked his fourth game in 2021 with at least two touchdowns. Jones is the first New England rookie quarterback to throw at least three touchdowns in game since Drew Bledsoe had four touchdown passes in Week 18 of the 1993 season vs. Miami on Jan. 2, 1994. Jones is the first rookie in franchise history with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions in a single game. The record for most games with at least two touchdown passes by a rookie quarterback is Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers with 10 games in 2020.
JONES FINISHES WITH 82.6 PERCENT COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
Jones completed 19-of-23 passes 198 yards for an 82.6 completion percentage. He has finished with a 70-plus completion percentage in six of his 10 games in 2021. The rookie record is nine games with a 70+ percent completion percentage by Dak Prescott in 2016. The NFL record is 13 games by Drew Brees in 2017.
HOYER THROWS SECOND TD AS A MEMBER OF THE PATRIOTS
QB Brian Hoyer entered the game in the fourth quarter and threw a 11-yard touchdown pass to WR Jakobi Meyers for his second career touchdown as a member of the Patriots. His first touchdown with the Patriots was a 42-yard touchdown to WR Brandon Tate in the third quarter vs. Miami on Jan. 2, 2011 in the final game of the 2010 season.
LINEUP NOTES
- T Trent Brown returned to action for the first time since the 2021 season-opener and started at right tackle.
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson made his first career start.
- WR N'Keal Harry returned to action after missing last week's game due to injury and was in the starting lineup.
- TE Devin Asiasi saw his first action of the 2021 season after being inactive for the first nine games of the season.
- WR Jakobi Meyers lined up to field punts with WR Gunner Olszewski out due to an injury.
- TE Matt LaCosse played in his first game since Jan. 4, 2020 when the Patriots faced the Tennessee Titans in a postseason game after being elevated to active roster from the practice squad.
