TEAM NOTES
- Patriots defense holds Cleveland to 70 yards rushing after averaging 192.4.
- Patriots have first rookie-to-rookie TD connection since 1993.
- Bill Belichick ties George Halas for second on the all-time win list for a head coach.
- Rhamondre Stevenson has second straight game with a 30-yard run.
- Stevenson scores two touchdowns for second straight year against Cleveland.
- Jonnu Smith has longest reception as a member of the Patriots.
PATRIOTS HAVE FIRST ROOKIE-TO-ROOKIE TD CONNECTION SINCE 1993
QB Bailey Zappe's 2-yard touchdown pass to WR Tyquan Thornton marked the first time the Patriots have had a rookie-to-rookie touchdown connection since the season finale of the 1993 season when QB Drew Bledsoe threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to WR Vincent Brisby in the third quarter vs. Miami on Jan. 2, 1994.
PATRIOTS HAVE NOT ALLOWED AN OPPONENT RUNNING BACK TO SCORE IN FIRST SIX GAMES
The Patriot shave allowed just two rushing touchdowns in the first six games, but none of those rushing touchdowns have been by an opponent's running back. QB Lamar Jackson scored on a touchdown run vs. Baltimore and WR Christian Watson scored on a run at Green Bay. The longest the Patriots have gone without allowing a running back to score on a touchdown run is eight games in 2019.
PATRIOTS DEFENSE IS FIRST TO HOLD CLEVELAND UNDER 170 RUSHING YARDS
Cleveland entered the game with the top ranked rushing attack, posting five consecutive games of 170 rushing yards and was averaging 192.4-yards per game. Nick Chubb had rushed for 100 yards in four of the first five games and had 100 scrimmage yards in all five games. Cleveland rushed for 70 yards and Chubb had 70 yards from scrimmage (56 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards)
PATRIOTS DEFENSE EXTENDED MARK TO SEVEN STRAIGHT STOPS ON FOURTH DOWN
The Patriots stopped Cleveland on a 4th-and-1 situation in the second quarter for their seventh straight hold on fourth down. The Patriots stopped Detroit on six fourth-down attempts the week before. The last team with at least seven straight fourth-down stops was Denver with eight straight in 2021. Cleveland converted on fourth down late in the fourth quarter to end the streak.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
BELICHICK TIES GEORGE HALAS FOR SECOND MOST WINS ALL-TIME
Bill Belichick won his 324th overall game as a head coach to tie George Halas for second place all-time among all NFL coaches, behind the 347 victories by Don Shula.
MOST WINS AMONG NFL COACHES (INCLUDING POSTSEASON)
Head Coach                   Team (s)            Years                               W         L             T
Don Shula                        BLT/MIA            1963-95                          347             173       6
Bill Belichick                    CLE/NE              1991-95, 2000-22           324             159       0
George Halas                  Chicago              1920-29, 33-41,              324             151       31
                                                                      46-55, 58-67
Tom Landry                     Dallas                 1960-88                            270             178       6
BELICHICK TIES SHULA FOR SECOND-MOST REGULAR SEASON WINS WITH ONE TEAM AS HEAD COACH
Bill Belichick won his 257th regular season game as head coach of the Patriots and tied Don Shula for the second-most regular seasons wins with one team among head coaches. Halas has 318 overall wins as head coach of the Bears and Belichick is second with 257 overall wins with the Patriots.
NFL Head Coaches with the Most Regular season wins With one team
Coach                        Team                     W            L        T
George Halas           Chicago              318       148      31
Bill Belichick            New England    257       102        0
Don Shula                 Miami                 257       133        2
Tom Landry             Dallas                 250       162        6
Curly Lambeau        Green Bay         209       104      21
FOLK ENDS HIS STREAK AT 64
K Nick Folk extended his NFL record to 64 straight field goals made under 50 yards with a 19-yard field goal in the first quarter, but the streak ended in the fourth quarter with a 45-yard field goal that was wide right. It was Folk's first miss from inside the 50-yard line since a 45-yard field goal attempt in the 2020 season-opener vs. Miami on Sept. 13.
JONNU SMITH HAS FOURTH 50-YARD RECEPTION OF HIS CAREER; LONGEST AS A PATRIOT
TE Jonnu Smith caught a pass and run that resulted in a 53-yard reception from QB Bailey Zappe in the third quarter. It is his fourth 50-yard reception and first since a 63-yard reception vs. Jacksonville on Sept. 20, 2020 when he played for Tennessee. It is his longest reception as a member of the Patriots, besting the 28-yard reception he had vs. the New York Jets on Oct. 24, 2021. It is the longest pass play for New England in 2022. WR Nelson Agholor had a 44-yard touchdown reception from QB Mac Jones at Pittsburgh on Sept. 18.
2022 SECOND-ROUND PICK TYQUAN THORNTON SCORES FIRST NFL TOUCHDOWN
2022 second-round draft pick WR Tyquan Thornton scored his first NFL touchdown on a 2-yard pass from QB Bailey Zappe in the third quarter.
THORNTON SCORES SECOND TOUCHDOWN OF THE DAY ON A 19-YARD RUN
Thornton scored his second touchdown of the day on a 19-yard touchdown run. He is the sixth Patriots wide receiver to score on a touchdown run and first since Cordarrelle Patterson in 2018.
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS BY A PATRIOTS RECEIVER (regular season)
Tyquan Thornton – 19-yard run at Cleveland on Oct. 16, 2022
Cordarrelle Patterson – 5-yard touchdown run vs. Green Bay on Nov. 4, 2018
David Patten – 29-yard touchdown run at Indianapolis on Oct. 21, 2001
Irving Fryar – 8-yard touchdown run at Seattle on Nov. 17, 1985
Darryl Stingley – 34-yard touchdown run vs. Kansas City on Sept. 18, 1977
Darryl Stingley – 23-yard touchdown run vs. Baltimore on Oct. 6, 1974
(postseason)
Deion Branch – 23-yard touchdown run in AFC Championship at Pittsburgh Jan. 23, 2005
DEATRICH WISE JR. TIES CAREER-HIGH IN SACKS
Deatrich Wise registered a 10-yard sack in the fourth quarter to tie his career-high with his fifth sack of the season. He had five sacks as a rookie in 2017. Â
STEVENSON HAS SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK WITH A 30-YARD RUN
RB Rhamondre Stevenson scored on a 31-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It is his second straight week with a 30-yard run. He had a 49-yard run vs. Detroit on Oct. 9
STEVENSON HAS THIRD CAREER TWO-TOUCHDOWN GAME
Stevenson had his third two-touchdown game, including his second against Cleveland. Stevenson scored on a 31-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also had two rushing touchdowns on Nov. 18, 2021 vs. Cleveland and vs. Jacksonville on Jan. 2, 2022 as a rookie.
HUNTER HENRY SCORES ON LONGEST TOUCHDOWN PASS OF HIS CAREER
TE Hunter Henry scored his first touchdown of the 2022 season on a 31-yard touchdown pass from QB Bailey Zappe in the third quarter, his longest touchdown reception of his career. His previous best was a 30-yard touchdown pass at Jacksonville on Dec. 8, 2019 when he played for the Chargers. In 2021, Henry tied for the NFL lead among tight ends with 9 touchdown receptions.
MACK WILSON HAS FIRST SACK AS A PATRIOT
LB Mack Wilson Sr. registered his first sack as a member of the Patriots with a 2-yard sack in the third quarter that he shared with LB Anfernee Jennings. It was his second career NFL sack and first since his rookie season in 2019 when he had an 8-yard sack at Denver on Nov. 3 when he played for Cleveland.
2022 SIXTH-ROUND PICK RB KEVIN HARRIS PLAYS IN HIS FIRST NFL GAME
2022 sixth-round draft pick RB Kevin Harris played in his first NFL game after being signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad in the week leading into the game. He entered the game at running back in the first quarter in a goal line situation and had his first rushing attempt for 1 yard in the third quarter. He finished with three carries for 5 yards.
PIERRE STRONG JR. HAS FIRST NFL RUSHING ATTEMPT
2022 fourth-round draft pick RB Pierre Strong Jr. had his first rushing attempt with a 5-yard gain in the fourth quarter. He played the last three snaps on offense at Pittsburgh (9/18) when the team took a knee on three straight plays to secure the win.
TEAM CAPTAINS SLATER AND MCCOURTY CLIMB ALL-TIME GAMES PLAYED LIST
Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty each moved up the ranks of the players with the most games played in franchise history. Slater played in his 212th game, tying Bruce Armstrong for second all-time, and McCourty appearing in his 194th game with New England, tying Mosi Tatupu for the 6th place in Patriots history.
TOP 10 MOST GAMES PLAYED IN PATRIOTS HISTORY
Player                   Games Played
Tom Brady                               285
Matthew Slater                     212
Bruce Armstrong                    212
Julius Adams                           206
Stephen Gostkowski              204
Devin McCourty                     194
Mosi Tatupu                            194
Troy Brown                             192
Raymond Clayborn                191
Tedy Bruschi                           189
BAILEY ZAPPE THROWS FOR OVER 300 YARDS
QB Bailey Zappe made his second straight start and finished 24-of-34 for 309 yards with two touchdown passes. He became the first Patriots rookie quarterback to win in his first home and first road game. Zappe had a passer rating of 118.4. He is the first rookie quarterback with a 100-plus passer rating in his first two starts since Sonny Jurgensen in 1957. Zappe had a passer rating of 100 in his first starts against Detroit.
LINEUP NOTES
- DB Shaun Wade played in his first game of the season. He has been inactive for three games and dressed, but did not play in two games.
- DL Carl Davis Jr. made his first start of the 2022 season.
- TE Jonnu Smith returned to play after missing the Detroit game due to injury.
- 2022 sixth-round pick RB Kevin Harris was signed from the practice squad earlier in the week and played in his first NFL regular season game. He entered the game at running back on the goal line in the first quarter.
- DL DaMarcus Mitchell returned to action after missing one game due to injury and played on special teams and saw his first action on defense.
- DB Jack Jones started at cornerback in place of Jonathan Jones, who was out due to injury.
