Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in a dominating win over the Browns?

The Patriots dominated the third quarter en route to a 32-13 win over the Cleveland Browns Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Here's who was graded UP or DOWN based on their performance, including seven players -- and one coach...

Maye was actually trending toward a "down" day, but a sizzling second half lifted him into the ups. Maye completed 18 of 24 passes for 282 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception, which added up to a 135.8 passer rating. Sunday marked Maye's fifth game this season with at least 200 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and a 135 rating, which breaks a single-season franchise record previously held by Tom Brady.

It was essentially a tale of two halves for Maye. Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett sacked him five times, and at least a couple of those were due in part to the quarterback holding the ball a little too long. Maye threw his first interception since Week 3, a play in which he simply missed linebacker Carson Schwesinger ranging over the middle of the field. He also fumbled in the second quarter, but the Patriots recovered it.

Maye finally found a rhythm in the third quarter, which is when he threw all three touchdowns. He completed three passes over 15 yards, including a 39-yard dime to Kayshon Boutte for a back-breaking score, and also ran four times for 53 yards (excluding kneeldowns) without taking a big hit.

It certainly wasn't a complete, clean 60-minute effort for Maye. But the numbers speak for themselves, and it's promising for the Patriots to see their young QB overcome some early adversity to take over a game.

Hollins was the only Patriots wide receiver to catch all his passes while being targeted more than one time, hauling in 7 of 7 for 89 yards. That includes a catch on a double-pass, and three grabs that went for at least 19 yards. It was nice to see Hollins produce, because it was a sign that Maye hunted the matchup with the Patriots' starting wideouts commanding attention.

We're not holding it entirely against Campbell that Garrett had himself a day ("He can't even block Myles Garrett?! He SUCKS!"). But Campbell also got beat clean by safety Grant Delpit on a blitz, and one of his sacks allowed was a near-disaster with Maye's fumble. Campbell did make a nice chip block on Garrett to barely buy Maye extra time on the play that led to his lone interception.

]It was as tough an assignment as Campbell will ever have in a game, so we're not overly concerned, but this amounted to a down day for the rookie.

Henderson marred his day with a late fumble, but the game was more-or-less out of hand by that point. The rookie was the best back on the field in this one, rushing 10 times for 75 yards, as he seemed to really see the field well and take advantage of open lanes. He most notably scampered for 27 yards on the Pats' first drive of the third quarter, helping set up an eventual touchdown.

Not quite the big-time breakout Patriots fans are waiting for, but a notable step in the right direction for Henderson. Just need to hope he can have a short memory with that fumble, correct what needs to be corrected, and focus on the positives.

Spillane had a bad missed tackle early, then locked it down for the rest of the game. The linebacker racked up a game-high 14 total tackles and, most importantly, intercepted Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel for a 32-yard return that set up a short field and a touchdown.

After a slow start to his first season as a Patriot, Spillane has been productive and pitching in impact plays over the course of the team's five-game win streak.

Despite facing one of the most talented and aggressive defensive fronts in football, the Patriots offensive line mostly kept the game clean with penalties. Onwenu was the only one to get flagged, a second-quarter false start that stalled a drive with the Patriots still down 7-6 at the time. Bit of a nitpick, but something for Onwenu to work on for next time.

A rare coaching distinction for Ups & Downs: McDaniels deserves credit for the way he called the offense Sunday. The Patriots utilized motion and misdirection while attacking the perimeters, which helped make the Browns' formidable pass-rush surprisingly ineffectual, despite Garrett's productive day. Most impressive was the sequencing between the touchdowns to Hunter Henry and Stefon Diggs. McDaniels showed a new wrinkle as he motioned Henry out for a similar route to the one he ran on his touchdown catch, causing multiple linebackers to bite. This gave Diggs the space he needed to slip into the end zone on a quick slant.

This was a big day for McDaniels to call the right kinds of plays to neutralize the Browns' defensive front. It helps to have a quarterback playing at an elite level and a handful of smart, capable pass-catchers, but it was clear that the Pats' offensive play-calling was a legit factor in the win.

If the Browns pulled off a late miracle, or even just made it interesting late, we'd all be pointing to Baringer's horrendous 15-yard shank in the fourth quarter. That blunder gifted the Browns a short field, and they cashed in with a touchdown. Baringer is fortunate that the 2-point conversion failed and Gabriel later committed a safety, or else he'd be mentioned more in postgame analysis.

Next Patriots Ups & Downs will come after the Pats play the Atlanta Falcons at Gillette Stadium in Week 9.