Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' Blowout Victory Over Redskins
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
FOXBORO (CBS) -- What took place on the field at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon will not go down in history as an unforgettable moment. It might only barely go down in history at all, as it featured a matchup of two teams that simply weren't on the same level.
The Washington Redskins might have been able to compete a little bit more if they didn't drop about eight passes, one of which resulted in a deflection and Patriots interception on the first offensive play for Washington. But the drops happened, and frankly not much else did for the Redskins offense, and so the Patriots won big at home.
As always, there were highs, and there were a few lows. So with the ado now out of the way, here are the Four Ups and Four Downs from the Patriots' 27-10 victory.
Four Ups
Julian Edelman
Let's start at the beginning, when Julian Edelman made sure this game got off on the right foot.
In a drive when the Patriots drove right through the Washington defense, Edelman came up with a trio of huge receptions to get the Patriots out to a 7-0 lead on the opening possession.
On fourth-and-2, Tom Brady looked to Edelman in the left slot for a four-yard pickup. It was successful. Three plays later, facing a third-and-5, Brady hit Edelman over the middle for a gain of seven. Edelman absorbed an illegal hit to the helmet by Keenan Robinson but hung on anyway.
Brady went right back to Edelman on the very next play with a quick pass in space, and Edelman juked Will Blackmon out of shorts before diving across the goal line for six.
Edelman finished with just five receptions for 55 yards, but his work on the opening drive earned him a spot on the Ups.
Bryan Stork And The Offensive Line
Bryan Stork was activated from IR on Saturday, and with rookie David Andrews doing a solid job in place of Stork at center this season, nobody knew where Stork would play. The second-year lineman ended up getting in some work at left guard, until left tackle Sebastian Vollmer left the game with a head injury.
It was at that point that the mix-and-match Patriots O-line came together, with Cameron Fleming moving from right tackle to left tackle, and with Stork stepping out and playing right tackle. Though he did take one holding play, but he more than held his own, which was impressive considering it was his first game of the year and he hadn't played tackle since a college game in November 2013.
And the offensive line as a whole had quite the day, despite missing so many bodies. They allowed LeGarrette Blount to rush for 129 yards and a touchdown, and they kept Tom Brady clean, giving up zero sacks on the day.
Brandon Bolden
Though Blount had the big game, it was Brandon Bolden who stepped up where few expected him to do so.
Dion Lewis left the game in the third quarter (more on that later), and with James White inactive, the Patriots weren't exactly deep at running back.
And considering Bolden entered the game with two rushes for six yards and two receptions for 14 yards on the year, he didn't exactly seem like a candidate to break out. Yet on a second-and-20 from the Washington 30-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Bolden took an inside handoff and picked up 12 yards. On third-and-8, following a timeout call, Bolden lined up wide right. With linebacker Perry Riley Jr. in coverage, Bolden ran a fade route and found some open space. Brady lofted a pass into the end zone and Bolden caught it perfectly in stride.
It was the Patriots' first touchdown in more than 38 minutes, and it ensured that the Redskins would not be mounting any comeback.
"Brandon has got a lot of experience on this team in a number of different roles and he's been through it all -- running game, passing game, blitz pickup, special teams -- multiple roles in that. He's a smart guy. You can always count on him," Bill Belichick said. "He's come through for us many times before like he did today, so that's why he's a valuable member of this team. We needed him and he stepped up for us."
Tom Brady concurred.
"It was great to see him in there and make a big play for us. He's a great player. I love Brandon and everything he brings to our team," Brady said. "He's been here for a while. He has great leadership, just a great player, great friend, and it was great to see him with the ball in his hands at the end of a play like that."
Defensive Line
The work being done by Alan Branch, Sealver Siliga, Malcom Brown and Dominique Easley has often gone overlooked this year, and perhaps it should be a getting a bit more attention. Though the individual stats don't always say much, the team stats from the opponent often do. In that regard, note this: The Redskins ran the ball 15 times. They gained 37 yards.
The D line was disruptive throughout, and Alan Branch forced a fumble on Washington's opening possession of the second half. Chandler Jones picked up a sack, bringing his season total to 9.5, and it was an overall good day for the defense, thanks in large part to the work up front.
Granted, Washington didn't present the biggest challenge offensively, but the Patriots' defense did what it was supposed to do.
Four Downs
Dion Lewis
Dion Lewis has been perhaps the most dynamic player on the Patriots' offense this season. He's at times simply moved faster than everybody else on the field, he's managed to escape a half-dozen tackles at a time, and he's been a reliable option for Tom Brady out of the backfield.
So when Lewis went down in the third quarter, grasping his left knee after a non-contact play, it did not look good.
There was no word postgame about Lewis' status, but given the way the injury looked and how he immediately headed to the locker room with the training staff, it did not bode well for him.
The Patriots could probably survive without Lewis, but if he is out for the year or for an extended time, the offense loses a major weapon.
Sebastian Vollmer
The other key loss to injury came in the first half, when right tackle-turned-left tackle Sebastian Vollmer left with a head injury.
The impact of Vollmer's departure was covered in the Ups, but going forward it could present problems. Marcus Cannon will, presumably, recover from his toe injury at some point, but the idea of Cannon and Marcus Fleming working at left tackle is one that may start to change expectations for the overall potential of the offense.
In the short term, the Patriots have made it work, with Fleming at left tackle and Stork at right tackle on Sunday. But if Vollmer's out for a while, it's going to be a lot harder for the Patriots to keep everything functioning at a high level on offense.
Tom Brady's Interception
What is that, Tom?! An interception?! I've never seen such a thing! Rubbish!
(Brady had a fine game, with 299 passing yards and two touchdowns. That was just a great read and a great play by Keenan Robinson.)
Theoretically, The Pass Defense
This one is, admittedly, a stretch. But Washington receivers dropped at least eight passes on Sunday, including a deep ball to Derek Carrier in the first quarter and a number of wide-open passes that would have at least moved the chains and kept possession with Washington. Instead, the balls clanked off the stone hands and led to New England dominating the time of possession, 37:05 to 22:55.
Now, the Patriots' pass defense can't be killed for what didn't happen. But leaving receivers open that often could result in a much more difficult game when the Patriots find themselves playing a more capable opponent.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
