If New England Patriots outside linebacker Chase Winovich is even half as active against starters as he’s been against backups through two preseason games, the rookie will be an All-Pro.
Winovich has been downright dominant early in his rookie career. For more perspective on his performance Saturday in the Patriots’ 22-17 win over the Tennessee Titans, check out this week’s takeaways.
All stats via Pro Football Focus.
PASS RUSH
OLB Chase Winovich: sack, QB hit, seven hurries
DT Byron Cowart: sack, QB hit
DE Deatrich Wise: QB hit, hurry
DE Ufomba Kamalu: QB hit
OLB Trent Harris: hurry
DT David Parry: hurry
DT Mike Pennel: hurry
DT Danny Shelton: hurry
OLB Shilique Calhoun: hurry
OLB Derek Rivers: hurry
DT Nick Thurman: hurry
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: hurry
— Defensive end Keionta Davis had 18 pass-rush snaps without a pressure. Linebacker Calvin Munson had five pass-rush snaps without a pressure. Linebackers Christian Sam and Terez Hall each had one pass-rush rep without a pressure.
— Winovich was unbelievable and all over the field. He was buried on the depth chart below Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Derek Rivers and Shilique Calhoun before the game, but we can’t imagine it will stay that way for long. He’s just too good and too active. We’d start him out with a third-down pass-rushing role in Week 1. He’s earned it.
— Cowart wasn’t known as a pass rusher in college at Maryland. He’s been a nice surprise this summer.
PASS COVERAGE
LB Calvin Munson: three catches on four targets, 33 yards
CB Keion Crossen: two catches on four targets, 32 yards
LB Terez Hall: three catches on three targets, 24 yards
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: two catches on two targets, 24 yards
S Terrence Brooks: one catch on two targets, 22 yards, pass breakup
CB Duke Dawson: one catch on three targets, 21 yards
CB JC Jackson: one catch on one target, 20 yards
LB Brandon King: two catches on two targers, 17 yards
LB Christian Sam: one catch on one target, 15 yards, TD
S Obi Melifonwu: one catches on two targets, 11 yards, TD
S Malik Gant: zero catches on one target
OLB Trent Harris: zero catches on one target
CB Joejuan Williams: zero catches on four targets, pass breakup
— Williams has come on unbelievably strong late this summer. His four targets came against top wideouts Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor. The Patriots’ cornerback corps is loaded.
— Brooks has been a nice find as a coverage safety. He was hitting hard in the middle of the field.
— Melifonwu looked a little lost at times. Dawson let up another big play.
RUN DEFENSE
OLB Chase Winovich: three stops
DE Deatrich Wise: two stops
DE Ufomba Kamalu: two stops
LB Calvin Munson: two stops
LB Christian Sam: two stops
DT Byron Cowart: stop
LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: stop, three missed tackles
CB Joejuan Williams: stop
CB Ken Webster: stop, missed tackle
S Obi Melifonwu: stop
— Add in the two catches Bentley allowed, and it wasn’t the second-year pro’s best game.
— Look at that. Winovich showed up near the line of scrimmage, as well. He’s PFF’s top-rated player through two weeks of the preseason.
— Kamalu had a nice well-rounded game. He’s a longshot for a roster spot.
PASSING ACCURACY
Jarrett Stidham went 14-of-19 for 193 yards with one touchdown. He did have a dropped interception that might have been returned for a pick-six. Otherwise, of Stidham’s five incompletions, three were thrown away and one was dropped. So, Stidham was inaccurate on just one incompletion. We thought it was another impressive game for the rookie. He was 1-of-1 on deep passes. He got rid of the football in just 2.88 seconds. That was down from 3.23 seconds in the first week of the preseason. He went 3-of-6 with three throwaways while under pressure.
Brian Hoyer went 6-of-8 with an interception. He was 0-of-1 on deep passes. The interception was floated toward wide receiver Braxton Berrios.
RECEIVING
WR Gunner Olszewski: one drop
— Braxton Berrios got just 13 snaps while Jakobi Meyers led the way with 53 plays. Berrios probably could have run a better route on Hoyer’s interception, though it wasn’t a great throw.
— Meyers was far and away the Patriots’ best receiver. He had six catches on six targets. No other wide receiver had more than one catch. Three of those catches came out of the slot.
— Damoun Patterson caught one of one deep target for a 23-yard touchdown. Dontrelle Inman was targeted deep but didn’t haul in the pass.
PASS BLOCKING
James Ferentz: sack, two hurries
Dan Skipper: three hurries
Cole Croston: two hurries
Tyrie St. Louis: two hurries
Cedrick Lang: two hurries
Hjalte Froholdt: hurry
Ted Karras: hurry
— Offensive linemen Isaiah Wynn, Tyler Gauthier and Martez Ivey, tight ends Ryan Izzo, Benjamin Watson, Lance Kendricks and Eric Saubert and running backs Damien Harris, Nick Brossette and Brandon Bolden all had pass-block snaps and gave up no pressures.
— Froholdt played well, but he was flagged twice for holding.
— Wynn couldn’t have had a better season debut from a pass-blocking perspective. The Patriots did struggle to run block when he was in the game, however.
RUSHING ATTACK
Damien Harris: 3.14 yards after contact per attempt
Brandon Bolden: 1.5 yards after contact per attempt
Nick Brossette: 1 yard after contact per attempt
— Harris had an impressive NFL preseason debut despite some subpar run blocking all night. He forced three missed tackles and ran hard after contact.
— Bolden forced one missed tackle, while Brossette didn’t force a missed tackle. Assuming no injuries, Brossette’s best shot at staying with the Patriots would be on the practice squad.
For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, go to ProFootballFocus.com.
