Pats Pulpit
Another week, another New England Patriots victory. Going into Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in a battle of two playoff-caliber teams, the Patriots were able to outlast the Buccaneers with a final score of 28-23.
Here is a Patriots-centric view at some of the key moments of the game.
The Patriots offense had its fair share of problems in the first quarter, but on its final play it finally started clicking. Drake Maye connected with wide receiver Kyle Williams on a crossing pattern, and the rookie took the reception 72 yards for his first career touchdown.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Williams reached a top speed of 21.78 mph — the fastest speed by any rookie ball carrier this season, and tied for the seventh-fastest overall by any ball carrier in the NFL this year.
Outside of Kyle Williams’ 72-yard touchdown, the Patriots offense did not look particularly sharp for much of the first half. However, they closed out the second quarter in impressive fashion: a 14-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that took 7:16 off the clock and allowed the team to take a 14-10 lead into the half.
Before the score, however, there were some shenanigans:
Setting up shop at the 1-yard line after a TreVeyon Henderson third-down conversion, Mike Vrabel decided to burn some clock on first down. Drake Maye effectively knelt to help prevent the Buccaneers from getting the ball back before intermission. Wasting one shot at a touchdown, of course, would have been a much-discussed decision had the team not converted on fourth down:
Snapping the ball with only 2 seconds on the clock in a do-or-die situation, Drake Maye connected with his favorite target this season, Stefon Diggs. The veteran wideout adjusted to the ball in the air, and was able to get both feet down in bounds for a go-ahead touchdown.
The Patriots got one big play out of a rookie earlier in the game, and followed it up by another on their opening drive of the second half. TreVeyon Henderson, who served as a bell-cow running back with Rhamondre Stevenson out and Terrell Jennings leaving the game in the first quarter, broke free through the right side of the line on a 1st-and-10 and there was no catching him. Displaying his open-field speed, the second-round pick took the ball 55 yards for a touchdown.
Even though Kayshon Boutte was sidelined for the game with a hamstring injury, the Patriots’ deep passing game still had another highlight-reel moment. Facing a 3rd-and-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Drake Maye hit Mack Hollins on a 54-yard bomb to move the team into the Tampa red zone.
However, New England ended up not extending its 5-point lead on the series.
After throwing the ball away on the previous play in a similar situation, Maye tried to squeeze a...
