Sportsnaut
Stefon Diggs and the New England Patriots picked up a huge win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. The Patriots escaped Orchard Park with a 23-20 victory and have firmly cemented themselves as an AFC contender.
Any time a team has a big, emotional win like the Patriots did last week, there’s the possibility of a letdown happening. The Patriots are slated to go to New Orleans in Week 6, and due to the Saints’ 1-4 record, it would be easy to overlook them. Additionally, Diggs isn’t going to have the same personal motivation he had against the Bills.
However, the veteran wide receiver has been around long enough to know not to fall into that trap. On Thursday, Diggs was asked about being in a possible letdown spot this weekend.
“To be honest, it might be a bigger test than last week, as far as having success and being able to replicate that process and do it all over again,” Diggs said, according to Patriots insider Mike Reiss. “We have to go in there with the right mindset.”
It’s encouraging to see Diggs, who is one of the team’s leaders, take a mature approach like this. Of course, the team still has to execute, and anything can happen any given Sunday.
If Diggs has a performance like he did in Week 5, though, the Patriots can feel good about their chances. Against his former team, Diggs caught 10 passes for 146 yards. In total, the veteran has 29 catches for 359 yards through five games.
It won’t be easy for Diggs to have another game like that in Week 6. The Saints have a top 10 pass defense so far and are allowing just 204 passing yards per game. However, even with a stout pass defense, the Saints are still allowing 27 points per game.
The Patriots and Saints will kick off from New Orleans on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. After this matchup, the Patriots have games against the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns.
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