Giardi: As 'MVP' chants fill the air, Patriots steamroll the Browns with a third-quarter surge

FOXBOROUGH - Despite Myles Garrett's best efforts, and oh, sweet mama, did that man nearly wreck the game (5 sacks), the Patriots' offense slowly but surely figured out the Browns in what ended up as a one-sided 32-13 rout on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

It turned into such a party that the air filled with "MVP" chants for Drake Maye while the game was still in the 3rd quarter, and moments later, the second-year QB delivered on the hype, hitting Kayshon Boutte for a 39-yard touchdown pass. That prompted more "MVP" chants. The joint was jumpin', rightfully so. The Pats have now won five in a row, and remain atop the AFC East.

"No, I didn't hear it. The guys were making fun of me about my slide back in the huddle on the long run," Maye said, adding, "The fans have been awesome all season. Really cool to really see the difference from last year to this year. Man, it's been a journey."

"I was joking with him last week about MVP, too," Boutte said. "He don't like to hear it, but, man, I think it's the truth, you know?"

Leading just 9-7 at the half, the Pats survived Maye's first interception in over a month (week 3 vs Pittsburgh), in large part because the guy on the other side, Dillon Gabriel, is not fit to be a starting quarterback in this league. Yes, there was a share of explosives from the Josh McDaniels-coordinated unit, but the presence of Garrett turned potential touchdowns into field goals and created at least some anxiety at the break.

"I gotta do a better job of getting the ball out and knowing the kind of what mode I'm in to get it out," admitted Maye.

"Just size, speed, athleticism, bend," Mike Vrabel said of Garrett. "Having watched him last year (Vrabel was in Cleveland), it's impressive, and it's hard, you know what I mean? Trying to chip him, and he gumbies around one guy, and then speed bursts the other. The guy's just an elite athlete, a tremendous skillset, and I'm glad we don't play 'em twice a year unless we're both in the playoffs."

It didn't take long for the Pats to pour cold water over any thought of an upset in the second half. McDaniels put on a play-calling clinic to open the third quarter, making sure Garrett would not/could not hurt them anymore. There was play-action, misdirection, trickeration, a jet sweep, and a boot off run-action to carve through this highly-regarded Browns defense in seven plays for 77 yards. Hunter Henry's TD reception made it 16-7, and you could see the air deflate from the Cleveland balloon. Who can blame 'em? 

"His (McDaniels) demeanor at halftime - he's calmed us down and knew that we were good," Maye said. "And, yeah, just a classic, you know, Coach McDaniels drive. I mean, he's just dialing it up. Multiple times, getting guys open and really making it easy for me. I think he was put on this earth to be an offensive coordinator."

"Credit to Josh. He made a lot of great calls," Henry said. 

"Taking advantage of our opportunities," Vrabel noted of that series and the totality of the third quarter. "Turning drives into touchdowns, and hitting some 'X' (explosive) plays and not settling for field goals like we did in the first half. But sometimes it's going to be like that. A lot of times in this league, it's going to be like that."

That series opened the floodgates, and by the time the 3rd quarter was over, Maye had gone a perfect 6-of-6 with three touchdown passes and added a 28-yard scramble (the one that prompted the MVP chants to begin with). Those three strikes in the same quarter were the first time a Pats QB had done that in a game since a fella by the name of Tom Brady (December 9, 2018, at Miami). With Halloween fast approaching, don't be alarmed. This is no trick. Watching Maye orchestrate this McDaniels' offense is quite the treat.

"Y'all see what I see," Boutte said. "We all see it. I think if you look around the league at the other guys, too, they're doing great stuff, too. But I mean, I think Drake (is) doing everything they('re) doing. It's not nothing that he's not doing."

"I think when we give him time to throw, it's pretty good," Vrabel said.

This was also one of those games that will enable Vrabel to capture his team's attention and keep it as they get ready for Atlanta next weekend. They were sloppy to start, and sloppy to finish - TreVeyon Henderson's best day as a pro (75 yards) was marred by a late fumble. Judging from the way the team spoke postgame, they already got the message. Plus, they can't always count on Maye to bail them out, can they? Wait, don't answer that. Just enjoy the ride.