Rhamondre Stevenson carries the day: 5 thoughts from Patriots clobbering the Browns

FOXBORO – Now past the midway point in the regular season, things continue to trend upward for the New England Patriots.

The Patriots put together their best performance of the season Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium, scoring 45 consecutive points to run away with a 45-7 victory to secure their fourth consecutive win.

Here are five thoughts about a Patriots team (6-4) that is really hitting its stride:

That rookie can run

With feature running back Damien Harris sidelined due to a concussion, rookie Rhamondre Stevenson stepped up in a big way to spark the Patriots' rushing attack.

Stevenson was effective against the Browns' third-ranked rushing defense, totaling 100 yards on the ground – his first career 100-yard rushing performance – and two touchdowns on 20 carries. In total, the Patriots ran for 184 yards in the win. Stevenson also played a small factor in the passing game with four receptions for 14 yards.

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The 6-foot, 246-pound back, who the Patriots selected in the fourth round out of Oklahoma in this year's NFL draft, displayed a hard-nosed rushing style that made it tough for the Browns defense to take him down and helped him score on a 5-yard touchdown run.

Stevenson's emergence gives the Patriots another option in the backfield, which will help take the load off of Harris, who has a history of injuries, going forward.

Best drive(s) of the season

Starting in the shadow of your own end zone on the one-yard line is never a good place to begin a drive. But for the Patriots, it ended up being the starting point for their best drive of the season.

New England proceeded to march 99 yards in 11 plays and finished off the possession with Mac Jones throwing a pretty 23-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne in which Bourne left his feet to high-point the ball and came down between two Browns defenders for the score.

That drive followed a terrific showing from the Patriots on their opening series of the game. The Patriots responded to Cleveland jumping out to a 7-0 lead by producing a 15-play, 83-yard scoring drive that took up 9:39 of the clock and finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Hunter Henry. The Patriots also had scoring drives of 92 and 95 yards in the second half.

Jones back on the rise

Much of the talk surrounding Jones heading into this game was how the rookie quarterback had plateaued in his performance recently. He certainly had less-than-inspiring performances against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Carolina Panthers, but his play was definitely on the rise again with a strong showing against a stout Cleveland defense.

Jones was in total control, throwing three touchdown passes for the first time in his career and completing 19-of-23 passes for 198 yards. Jones has formed a nice rapport with both Bourne (4 receptions, 98 yards and Henry (4 receptions, 37 yards), who caught two touchdown passes.

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For Jones, he is completing 69 percent of his pass attempts on the season to go along with 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The No. 15 overall pick is routinely showing he's one of the best rookie quarterbacks in the league over the first 10 weeks.

Third-down effectiveness

Propelling the Patriots offense early – New England registered points on its first four drives – was their ability to execute when faced with third-down situations. The Patriots converted the first six third downs they faced to extend possessions and ultimately find the end zone. New England finished 7-of-9 on third down for the game.

The Patriots picked up five of those first six third downs through the air, highlighted by Jones lofting a pass near the sideline to Jakobi Meyers, who made an excellent over-the-shoulder grab to move the chains.

Tough travels

Traveling to Foxboro hasn't been a happy trip for the Browns. Cleveland has lost seven straight road games to the Patriots with three out of the last four defeats coming by double digits.

The last time the Browns beat the Patriots in Foxboro was Oct. 25, 1992. The coach for Cleveland that game was none other than Bill Belichick.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Five thoughts from Patriots dismantling the Browns