New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots didn’t play their best game of football in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, but they still managed to come away with a 24-23 victory. Quarterback Drake Maye once again delivered the goods when his team needed him the most, which recently led to him receiving some high praise from head coach Mike Vrabel.
On the surface, Maye didn’t play all that bad, as he threw for 259 yards and two scores, while also adding another 20 yards on the ground. He committed a pair of costly turnovers, though, that directly led to 10 points for the Falcons.
With the game tightening up in the second half, Maye struggled. But on a 3rd & 5 play late in the fourth quarter, where the Pats just needed a first down to end the game, Maye calmly found tight end Hunter Henry for a 17-yard strike. When looking back on the play, Vrabel credited Maye for staying calm in a pressure-packed situation.
“This is just great execution by everybody,” Vrabel said on “Patriots All Access.” “(Drake Maye), real calm, just not rushing anything, giving him a nice, catchable ball.”
If New England intends to make something of the 2025 season, delivering in clutch moments is going to be important. After stringing together a couple of blowout victories in recent weeks, it was encouraging to see the Pats find a way to hold off the Falcons’ late comeback attempt.
It’s clear, though, that Maye and the rest of the team are going to have to be better moving forward. That starts immediately in Week 10, where a difficult matchup on the road against the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers awaits.
