The Patriots climbed back to .500 on the season on Sunday, defeating the Browns 38-15 to improve to 3-3 on the season.

Here are eight (8) takeaways from the Patriots' win.

Zappe Fever won't go away

The Patriots' rookie quarterback might be going back to backup duties once Mac Jones gets healthy, but he's certainly made the quarterback situation interesting in New England

After leading the Patriots to victory in his first career NFL start in Week 5, Bailey Zappe played even better in his third professional game against the Browns on Sunday. He completed 24 for 34 passes for 309 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The numbers certainly tell the truth as to how well Zappe played on Sunday, too. Unlike his first two games, Zappe aired it out more against the Browns (likely a personnel decision). On the Patriots' opening drive, he completed a deep pass along the sideline to DeVante Parker for a 25-yard gain.

Parker's opening reception was the deepest pass Zappe threw in terms of air yardage on Sunday, but he did still launch a fair amount of passes down the field throughout the day. Jakobi Meyers, Tyquan Thornton and Hunter Henry caught passes on down-the-field throws from Zappe, too.

Zappe also distributed the ball well. He completed passes to eight different Patriots receivers, including one to himself on a batted ball at the line of scrimmage that resulted in a six-yard loss. He didn't overly rely on one receiver either as no one had more than four receptions on New England and Henry led the team in targets with just seven on Sunday.

Zappe certainly got some help from the Browns' secondary, too. Safety Grant Delpit tripped over himself on a shorter pass Zappe threw to Henry, allowing the tight end to run into the end zone with ease for a 31-yard score. But make no mistake, the rookie was really impressive on Sunday and while Jones will likely be starting again once he's fully healthy, it's no longer crazy to think Zappe could end up starting again if the guy in front of him screws up.

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Hello, Tyquan!

With Nelson Agholor out on Sunday, the Patriots' second-round rookie receiver had an opportunity to show what he's got on Sunday – and he delivered.

Tyquan Thornton scored his first two NFL touchdowns in his second career game on Sunday, showcasing his speed that was the best among all receiver prospects in the 2022 draft class.

The first notable instance of Thornton using his speed came when the Patriots had a 3rd-and-goal play at the Browns' 2-yard line. After struggling to score in a similar spot in the first quarter, Thornton was able to break through by using his speed to get open in the middle of the end zone for his first career score.

Thornton's second career score came on an end around in which he was in motion before the snap, getting the handoff from Zappe right after the ball hiked. He turned up field quickly and was able to score a 19-yard touchdown with ease.

It appeared that New England wanted to get Thornton involved in numerous ways on Sunday. He ended up carrying the ball two other times (though one of them resulted in a few-yard loss) while getting targeted five times, resulting in four receptions for 37 yards.

Patriots TE party in Cleveland

Sunday was the best game of the season for the Patriots tight ends.

Hunter Henry was involved a lot on Sunday, recording four receptions on seven targets for 61 tards. As mentioned earlier, he also caught a touchdown with some help from the Browns' secondary. But Henry showed exactly why the Patriots signed him to a big deal a year ago. He was used in the red zone on multiple occasions, getting targeted in the end zone for what would've been a touchdown grab if he didn't step out of bounds before making the grab.

Jonnu Smith made a big play after missing last week's game due to an ankle injury. He took a pass from Zappe that was just passed the sticks 53 yards to get the Patriots well into Browns territory on their opening drive in the second half. Getting the ball to Smith in open space is his biggest strength as a receiver, so it was a nice sign to see him do that on Sunday, too.

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Patriots run defense held up well

Sunday's game was believed to be a battle of the running backs. That didn't end up being the case.

Nick Chubb entered Sunday's game as the league's leading rusher, but ended up rushing for a season-low 56 yards against the Patriots. It should be noted that he ran for an efficient 4.7 yards per carry. However, he didn't really break out for a major run like he has in every other game this season as his longest carry of the day went for 18 yards. It also helped New England that it went up by multiple scores early in the second half, putting Cleveland in a situation to pass more than it likely would've wanted to.

Stevenson gave the Patriots just enough in the ground game

As with Chubb, it was believed that Rhamondre Stevenson would have a big game on Sunday too as he was going to be New England's feature back and was going up against a Cleveland rush defense that ranked last in DVOA entering Week 6.

Stevenson didn't have the big day many hoped for, rushing for 76 yards on 19 carries, but made the plays when it mattered. On a 3rd-and-10 before halftime, Stevenson took a draw out of shotgun and read the field perfectly to score a 31-yard touchdown. He added his second touchdown in the final minutes of the game, rushing for a six-yard score. Outside of those two rushes, Stevenson ran for just 2.3 yards per carry.

Dugger was everywhere

The Patriots' third-year safety continues to be a standout on a week-to-week basis, and he made his presence known right away on Sunday.

On just the second play of the game, Jacoby Brissett took a chance down the field on a bootleg play-action pass. Dugger blanketed Brissett's intended receiver and the ball landed right in his arms for the interception.

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Dugger continued to make plays throughout the first quarter, recording six tackles in the opening frame. One of those tackles was a strong takedown of Donovan Peoples-Jones on an end-around that went for a very short gain.

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Dugger ended the day with a team-high eight total tackles and two passes defended with his only blemish being a 33-yard reception he allowed to David Njoku.

Wynn struggles again

The Patriots' starting right tackle had another performance he'd like to forget on Sunday. He gave up a strip sack to Myles Garrett on New England's second drive of the game. He also had a false start that pushed the Patriots back five yards on a third-down situation, too.

Patriots Rookie corners impress

Marcus Jones and Jack Jones had to help hold the fort down for the Patriots' secondary on Sunday with Jonathan Jones out. They looked ready for the task as each of them recorded a pass defended and certainly didn't get embarrassed. Jack Jones broke up a pass in the end zone while Marcus Jones nearly recorded his first interception. The only mistake from the two came when Marcus Jones gave up a 37-yard reception to Peoples-Jones on a well-thrown pass from Brissett on a 4th-and-two play in the fourth quarter.