Marcus Jones' 87-yard punt return TD sparks Patriots offense in 42-13 romp over Panthers

Marcus Jones had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, Drake Maye added two touchdown passes and ran for another, and New England rolled to a 42-13 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson added touchdown runs and Jones had a 61-yard punt return that set up another TD to help the Patriots (2-2) avoid their fifth straight 1-3 start.

“Having the momentum, especially at home, it drives everyone," Jones said. “Basically we're like, hey, started with that, but now we need to add on from there.”

A week after turning the ball over five times in a loss to Pittsburgh, the Patriots were turnover-free while going 4 for 4 in the red zone.

Maye was steady throughout, completing 14 of 17 passes for 203 yards. Receiver Stefon Diggs had six catches for 101 yards.

"What we put on tape last week was not what we want to do and who we want to be," Maye said. “We had some different scheme kind of plays that kind of gave the defense some misdirection that I thought we hit right on the head and turned into explosive plays.”

It added up to the total effort coach Mike Vrabel wants to see from his team.

"When we don’t beat ourselves and we take care of the football and we play complementary football ... it can look like something," he said.

Carolina (1-3) struggled from the outset, missing an extra point after scoring on the game’s opening possession and then punting on four of its final five drives. The other possession ended with a missed field goal.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young finished 18 of 30 for 150 yards and a touchdown before being replaced by Andy Dalton with just over eight minutes remaining.

“It’s on me. It’s on everybody in that locker room. We talked about that after,” Young said. “We all take accountability. We all have to look in the mirror. We all have to understand what we can do better.”

Maye put New England in front 14-6 in the opening seconds of the second quarter when he scored from 5 yards on a designed quarterback run.

As he crossed the goal line Maye, who grew up in North Carolina rooting for former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, mimicked Newton's Superman celebration —- pantomiming ripping open his shirt ala Clark Kent.

Later, following a missed 55-yard field-goal attempt by Carolina’s Ryan Fitzgerald, Maye led the Patriots on an eight-play drive that was punctuated by a 5-yard TD run by Henderson.

A 61-yard punt return by Jones to the Carolina 14 got the Patriots back in business. Four plays later, a 1-yard touchdown run by Gibson pushed the lead to 28-6 just before halftime.

Injuries

Panthers: WR David Moore was carted off after suffering an elbow injury on the game’s first play. Moore rushed for 12 yards before being tackled near the Panthers sideline. He was able to walk to the cart before being driven off. ... RG Chandler Zavala walked off on his own power with a knee injury after a collision in the first quarter but was later ruled out. ... DT Cam Jackson limped off with assistance in the second quarter. ... WR Dalevon Campbell left with a hamstring injury and was also ruled out.

Patriots: CB Charles Woods was shaken up after taking hit during Jones’ punt return TD but was able to walk off the field. ... CB Carlton Davis III walked off and was treated in the medical tent after a play in the second quarter. ... S Jaylinn Hawkins left with a hamstring injury.

Record setter

Jones finished with 167 yards on three punt returns to set a single-game franchise record. His effort topped the 156 punt return yards Mike Haynes had against Buffalo in 1976.

Gonzalez debut

Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez made his season debut after missing the first three games of the season rehabbing from a preseason hamstring injury. He finished with three tackles.

“T Strong”

The Patriots wore “T Strong” shirts during pregame warmups in support of defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, whom the team announced was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Vrabel said the 51-year-old Williams would be around the team as much as possible and is in the process of undergoing treatment and meeting with specialists.

Up next

Panthers: host Miami next Sunday.

Patriots: visit Buffalo next Sunday.

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