NFL Week 8 PFF ReFocused: New England Patriots 27, Cleveland Browns 13

The New England Patriots throttled the Cleveland Browns at home, winning easily on the back of their defense, 27-13.

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Final Score

New England Patriots 27, Cleveland Browns 13

New England Patriots

Tom Brady’s best throw of the day was a vertical route to Phillip Dorsett down the left sideline that was placed perfectly and led to a 33-yard gain in the first quarter. Brady’s worst throw of the day should have been intercepted by Denzel Ward, as the Browns second-year cornerback undercut an out route in the end zone but wasn’t able to hold onto to the interception.

Julian Edelman was tough for the Browns to cover in the red zone. Edelman scored two touchdowns on red-zone crossing routes. James White caught a screen pass and turned it into a 59-yard gain in the third quarter.

Kyle Van Noy was virtually unstoppable today as a pass-rusher. He consistently won with a bull-rush against any Cleveland blocker that lined up in front of him, as the Patriots' front seven dominated all day long.

We didn't get to see much of the Patriots' secondary today, but what we did see was more of what we have come to expect from this unit: solid coverage and the prevention of big plays.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns were more of the same today, as terrible offensive line play and questionable coaching calls throughout left a bad taste in the viewers' mouth. This offensive line did a putrid job against a stout New England front that ran stunts all game long that were rarely picked up. Neither of the tackles could hold up against Kyle Van Noy's bull-rush, and with the consistent 10-12 yard drops by Baker Mayfield, there was no time to throw throughout this one.

While the Browns were able to move the ball in the run game early on with Nick Chubb before the score got out of hand, it was masked by two early fumbles. Once the game got out of hand, the Patriots were able to unleash on Baker and an already high amount of pressure grew even greater.

Olivier Vernon generated multiple pressures throughout the game. Vernon beat Marshall Newhouse outside of a sack of Brady that ended a Patriots' third-quarter drive. Myles Garrett executed a nice inside spin move to beat Newhouse for a sack of Brady in the fourth quarter.

Eric Murray timed a slot blitz perfectly to sack Brady to end a Patriots’ second-quarter drive. Ward broke up a Brady pass in the end zone and also blocked a field goal in the second quarter. Ward also broke up a pass for Edelman in the red zone in the fourth quarter.