Patriots vs. Redskins: What We Learned in New England's 34-27 Win

It's hard enough to beat the New England Patriots, but there are two things you don't want to do:

• Turn the ball over—the Redskins had two.
• Commit costly penalties—the Redskins had eight.

Fortunately for the Patriots, the Washington Redskins were willing to give up the right plays at the right time.

Of course, along the way, we learned much more than just that.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter.

Devin McCourty Struggles Early but Fights Back, Proves His Season Isn't over

It started off even uglier on Sunday for McCourty than it had been to this point, which is saying a lot. 

A 51-yard bomb sailed over McCourty's head and into the hands of Donte Stallworth, who played for the Patriots in 2007. It was another signature big play against the Patriots pass defense, as we've seen them give up one after another this season. 

After that, the Redskins' first touchdown of the game went right to McCourty's man—another former Patriot, Jabar Gaffney. 

It looked like things might have quickly turned around when McCourty appeared to grab his first interception of the season, but his pick was negated by a roughing the passer penalty.

From there, he took matters into his own hands with two pass breakups on key drives in the third and fourth quarters.

McCourty got burned a couple of times early, but proved to be flame retardant when the Redskins kept going after him. That is the key for him if he wants to get back on track.

Patriots Defense Continues to Hold in the Red Zone

On a 1st-and-goal at the one, the Patriots gave up just a field goal for a second straight week. They were helped in part by a line shift that caused a false start on the Redskins offense and pushed them back five yards on 3rd-and-1.

It looked like Devin McCourty had his first interception of the season, but it was nullified by a dubious Andre Carter roughing the passer penalty (more on that later).

Once again, they needed a big stop in the red zone close to the end of the first half. They got it from Julian Edelman, who made a great tackle on 3rd-and-10 from the 15 with 2:32 left in the first half. 

As a result of the problems in the secondary, the defense has relied on its ability to make stops when they don't have a lot of ground to cover behind them. They gave up just one touchdown on Washington's three trips to the red zone in the first half, and held to one for two in the second half for a combined 40 percent (two for five).

They are now 50 percent on the season.

Jerod Mayo Is Capable of Making Big Plays

With :22 remaining in the game, Jerod Mayo grabbed the game-clinching interception, only the second pick of his career and his second pick in the past two weeks.

His two career picks may have come against the Colts and the Redskins, but for those waiting for Mayo to start making big plays, the past two weeks have to be at least somewhat encouraging.

Unfortunately, he came off the field after that pick and appeared to have injured himself. Hopefully, he gets back to full health quickly. He's already missed time this season with an MCL sprain.

Rob Gronkowski Was Thinking About His 14th Touchdown All Week and Got It Easily

Gronkowski was running with a purpose on his incredible 49-yard catch-and-run. That purpose was to get his record-breaking 14th touchdown reception. It didn't happen on that play, but it didn't take long for him to reel in the record-breaker.

On the touchdown reception, Gronkowski broke free on a seam route. He also broke free from a three-way tie with Antonio Gates and Vernon Davis for touchdown receptions by a tight end. Gronkowski already held the record for total touchdowns by a tight end with a touchdown that was ruled as a run last week on a lateral from Brady.

With his second touchdown of the game, Gronkowski moved into a tie for third place all-time among all receivers with six multiple touchdown games in a season. His six games with two or more receiving touchdowns ties Bill Groman's mark set in 1961.

He sits one multi-touchdown game behind Cris Carter and Jerry Rice, and two behind the record-holder Randy Moss, who had eight of them in 2007.

Gronkowski finished the game with six receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

NFL Defenders Are No Longer Allowed to Touch Quarterbacks

Let's be honest: Neither of the personal foul penalties on Andre Carter and London Fletcher really should have been penalties. On Carter's roughing the passer, Grossman's leaping pass led his thigh into Carter's shoulder. That penalty nullified a Devin McCourty interception.

London Fletcher's "forearm to the head" really should have been called a "shoulder to the chest," but because Brady was sliding, it looked like a late hit.

NFL officials need to start talking about penalties and picking up flags if they can't conclusively decide on the penalty. That way, we won't get made-up penalties.

But hey, this was the same referee that couldn't remember the rules of overtime just two weeks ago.

The Patriots Will Need to Win with Their Offense from Now to the Super Bowl

The Patriots defense got lit up once again, and this time, it came at the hands of Rex Grossman. Yes, that Rex Grossman. 

The league's 27th-ranked scoring offense put up 27 points against the Patriots defense. This is a week after Dan Orlovsky led the Colts offense to 21 fourth-quarter points.

What was once an admirable 10th-ranked scoring defense has folded over the past couple of weeks, and it's clear they'll need Tom Brady to put up big numbers and big points from here on out if they want to make a push for the Super Bowl.