It’s time to give Matt Patricia some credit with Patriots offense humming | Chris Mason

CLEVELAND — At FirstEnergy Stadium, the Patriots fielded a third-string rookie quarterback. They didn’t have their starting running back nor their highest paid receiver, and their right tackle was so leaky that he found a seat on the bench.

They still hung 38 points on the Browns.

One of the region’s most popular punching bags for much of the summer, it’s time to give Matt Patricia some credit. His work to keep the season afloat with Mac Jones stuck on the shelf has been nothing short of impressive.

“They beat us up and down the field,” Browns safety Grant Delpit said after the 38-15 drubbing.

In a hostile road environment — they don’t call it “The Dawg Pound” for nothing — Patricia gave Bailey Zappe and easily digestible workload and was rewarded.

He threaded the needle of not asking the kid to do too much, while still keeping the Browns defense on its heels. Zappe went 24-of-34 for 309 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes. For the second week in a row, he wasn’t intercepted and the 118.4 passer rating he posted was indicative of his afternoon.

It’s not supposed to look this good when a fourth-round rookie from Western Kentucky gets thrown into a starting role.

“We did a phenomenal job (staying with the game plan),” Zappe said. “O-line played well, receivers played well, tight ends played well, running backs ran well. I mean, we just had a really good offensive day today.”

On a third-and-10 in the second quarter, Patricia caught the Browns off guard with a Rhamondre Stevenson run. The running back had a cavernous hole at the line of scrimmage and bolted 31 yards to pay dirt. It was a perfect play-call.

“Really, it just opened right up for me. I got straight to the second level,” Stevenson said.

Patricia also dialed up an end-around touchdown for Tyquan Thornton and the Patriots went 7-for-14 on third down; they kept the chains moving. After Dan Campbell called last weekend’s 29-0 shutout “rock bottom” for the Lions, it was Browns coach Kevin Stefanski left soul-searching at the podium on Sunday.

“I don’t have a ton of answers right this moment,” Stefanski said.

With three different quarterbacks, Patricia’s offense has put up at least 24 points for the past month. They’re averaging 29.25 points per game in that stretch, and while the defense is playing well, the offense is holding up its end of the bargain.

It’s time to tip the cap to Patricia. He’s been putting the pencil on his ear to work this season.

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