Drake Maye and Patriots offense needs to be prepared vs. a stout Browns defense in Week 8
The New England Patriots finally get to play another game on their home turf this weekend, when they welcome the Cleveland Browns to Foxboro for a Week 8 showdown. With the Patriots on an upswing, now would be a great time to reestablish home-field advantage at Gillette Stadium.
New England is 5-2 and in first place of the AFC East, mostly thanks to a perfect 4-0 record on the road to start the season. But that means the Patriots are just 1-2 at home, which has been a trend for the team for nearly five years.
The Patriots haven't had a winning record at home since 2020, when they went 5-3 in Foxboro. The team went 4-5 at home in 2021 and then 4-4 in 2022 before things really went off the rails.
The Patriots are just 4-15 at home going back to the start of the 2023 season. Gillette Stadium used to be a house of horrors for visiting teams, but it's been a walk in the park the last three years.
Stefon Diggs wants that to change immediately.
"We've been road warriors for weeks now. We have to get in front of our home crowd and give them something to be proud of," Diggs said Wednesday. "You're playing for that name on the back of your jersey and the front of your jersey.
"Building that energy at home is going to be huge going into the latter part of the season," added Diggs. "Trying to stack some wins here is going to be huge for us."
The Browns bring a 2-5 record and a dysfunctional offense to New England this weekend, but this is not a game the Patriots can overlook. Cleveland possesses the NFL's best defense, which will pose a huge challenge for Drake Maye and the New England offense on Sunday.
Forget about Cleveland only having two wins. Sunday is not going to be a cakewalk for the Patriots. Don't be surprised if they find themselves in a low-scoring, close game well into the fourth quarter.
Here's what we'll be watching for when the Patriots and the Browns kick off in Week 8:
Drake Maye, Mr. Efficiency
Maye looks like an MVP-in-the-making and has completed 75.2% of his passes through the first seven weeks to lead the NFL. It's allowed the second-year QB to rack up 1,744 passing yards and 12 touchdowns, to just two interceptions. Maye also leads the league with a 116.4 passer rating.
All of that will be put to the test this weekend when Maye squares off against the NFL's best defense. The Browns are third in the league at only 173.7 passing yards allowed per game, and they force quarterbacks to get rid of the football faster than anyone else.
Sunday against this Cleveland defense is going to be Maye's biggest test yet this season. He's going to have to make quick decisions and really have his head on a swivel when he takes off as a runner, since the Browns have one of the most dangerous and terrifying defensive players in the NFL in Myles Garrett.
Myles Garrett vs. Will Campbell
Garrett is, simply put, a monster. His arms are built like sequoias and he can really wreck a gameplan for offensive coaches.
Garrett has made five straight Pro Bowls and been named All-Pro First Team in four of the last five seasons. He's racked up at least 14 sacks in each of the last four seasons, and already has five in 2025.
"He's one of the best players in the league," Maye said of Garrett. "He's somebody you've got to know where he's at. A lot of credit to him. He plays hard, he's disruptive, and he's good in the run game and the pass game. It's going to be a tough challenge."
The 6-foot-4, 272-pound Garrett is in the Top 10 in pass rush win rate among edge rushers this season, and usually lines up against the opposition's left tackle. On Sunday, it will be up to rookie Will Campbell to keep Garrett from getting to Maye.
Campbell has been solid overall to start his NFL career and we haven't heard his name called too much, which is always a good thing for offensive linemen. But he's going to have his hands full all day Sunday, and likely a few Garrett-fueled nightmares leading up to game day.
The Patriots aren't going to leave Campbell out on an island against Garrett. Expect a lot of assistance and chip blocks from tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, and 6-foot-4 receiver Mack Hollins will also try to help Campbell's cause. TreVeyon Henderson may not be doing much out of the backfield, but he could be a valuable extra blocker this weekend.
A balanced offensive attack could help against Garrett and the Cleveland pass rush. But the Browns defense is much, much more than just the behemoth that is Myles Garrett.
The Cleveland defense is a force
Garrett leads the charge on Cleveland's defensive front, but the unit is truly a formidable one thanks to defensive tackles Maliek Collins (3.5 sacks, nine QB pressures) and Mason Graham (three QB pressures and 0.5 sacks) and linebackers Devin Bush Jr. and Carson Schwesinger (one sack, three QB pressures apiece). Graham and Schwesinger are both rookies, but are already making a big impact on the Cleveland D.
The Browns don't blitz often, but they still generate pressure on 20.7% of their defensive plays, tied for 13th most in the NFL. Cleveland has 18 sacks on the season, which is tied with the Patriots and two other teams for the 10th-most in the NFL.
With a pair of rookies on the left side in Campbell and left guard Jared Wilson -- who struggled mightily last weekend in Tennessee -- protecting Maye's blind side is going to be paramount on Sunday. And when the QB does take off for a scramble, he better make sure he braces himself for contact with a hard-hitting Cleveland defense looking to take him down.
We've already touched on Cleveland's passing defense, but it's worth mentioning the Browns secondary had three picks in the team's 31-6 beatdown of the Dolphins in Week 7. Corner Tyson Campbell and safeties Ronnie Hickman and Rayshawn Jenkins all had interceptions last Sunday, and Campbell brought his back for a 34-yard touchdown.
The Cleveland run defense is stout as well, with the Browns allowing just 82.4 rushing yards per game -- fourth-best in the NFL. Teams are getting just 3.3 rushing yards per attempt against Cleveland, which is tied for the best average in the league.
The Patriots have one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL, but they can't simply abandon the run on Sunday. Rhamondre Stevenson had success with 88 rushing yards and a touchdown last weekend in Tennessee, and the Patriots should look to build off that strong performance as a way of keeping Maye out of harm's way on Sunday.
"They're playing at a high level, they're with playing a lot of confidence. It's a lot of speed, a lot of disruption," Mike Vrabel said of Cleveland's defensive unit. "They don't give you a whole lot of time to make decisions. And then there's enough change ups in there that you just have to be good. You have to be sound, can't hold on to the ball. Coverage is sticky and the linebackers are fast."
Had the Browns gotten anything from their offense over the first six weeks of the season to complement their defense, they might be a halfway decent team. But there is one Cleveland offensive player the Patriots are going to have to worry about on Sunday.
Quinshon Judkins vs. Patriots run defense
The Browns have turned to a rookie quarterback in Dillon Gabriel, who hasn't thrown a touchdown since Oct. 5 but also hasn't turned the ball over. But he's not the offensive player the Patriots have to worry about Sunday. (At least not too much.)
That would be running back Quinshon Judkins, whom Cleveland drafted 36th overall in April -- two picks before the Patriots drafted his college teammate at Ohio State, fellow running back TreVeyon Henderson. While Henderson hasn't broken out yet for the Patriots, Judkins is off and running for the Cleveland offense.
Judkins has emerged as an offensive stud for the Browns, accounting for five of the team's 11 touchdowns on the season. He has 467 rushing yards and 529 yards from scrimmage over his six games, which accounts for roughly 28% Cleveland's total offense (1,895 yards) this season.
Judkins picked up most of his 84 yards against the Dolphins last weekend on one run, when he broke off a 46-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. It was the first of three times he found the end zone against Miami, and his fourth run of 20 or more yards this season.
The kid is good, but he's about to match up with a stellar New England run defense. The Patriots are allowing just 77.1 rushing yards per game this season, which ranks No. 2 in the NFL.
The Pats are the only team in the league that hasn't allowed a 50-yard rusher yet this season. Will that streak continue Sunday, or will it fall at the hands (or I guess, the legs) of Quinshon Judkins? It should make for one heck of a battle to watch in Week 8.