Pats Pulpit
Things stayed within shouting distance at the Caesars Superdome.
But the New England Patriots shouted louder there on Sunday, defeating the New Orleans Saints by a score of 25-19.
Here’s a glance back on the 1 p.m. ET kickoff as head coach Mike Vrabel’s side returns home at 4-2 on the season.
A week removed from visiting the NFL’s last unbeaten team, it was on to visit a team fresh off its first win. There would be no letdown in Louisiana. Drake Maye found a way. And early. The Patriots quarterback went 18-of-26 passing for 261 yards against the Saints. He did so while throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Beginning in “12” personnel, the opening drive spanned just four plays. A bootleg capped it off. With downfield eyes, Maye hit an open DeMario Douglas for a 53-yard touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. On the next series, the 23-year-old found the slot receiver again for a meandering 61-yard touchdown that was called back. But another scoring strike was the response to close the first quarter. No passes had hit the turf by then. Not until a scramble-turned-throwaway with 6:39 to go before halftime gave way to an errant snap and a turnover on downs.
It’d be a 22-16 game at intermission as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ group had averaged 14.2 yards per pass play. No. 10 under center stood with his touchdowns and a sneak for a two-point conversion by intermission.
Maye did not let off, converting on third-and-2 with his legs, fourth-and-4 with his arm, and rushing for a team-long 20 yards soon after. A third-and-11 saw the captain maneuver a collapsing pocket to find veteran target Mack Hollins. And while the second half produced a single field goal, it produced enough winning plays. Another third-and-11 wound up downed in bounds by an LSU product. The clock kept ticking to the two-minute warning. No timeouts were left at the disposal for Saints head coach Kellen Moore.
The Patriots had all six wide receivers active for the first time on Sunday. Selections from the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft were more than among them.
Kayshon Boutte moved the chains on third-and-9 on the opening possession. The Louisiana native hung on to a one-on-one contested catch for a 25-yard touchdown next time out. He then spun around to cross the plane for a 28-yard touchdown on the final drive of the first half. There was more to come in gotta-have-it moments.
Boutte finished the afternoon with a team-high five receptions on as many looks for 93 yards. His aforementioned draft classmate, Douglas, also found the end zone once and should have twice. A TD by the Liberty alum was called back for a phantom offensive pass interference.
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