Pats Pulpit
Ahead of this year’s training camp, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained that he was looking at his team’s performances in three distinct categories. There is the good, the bad, and, as he called it, the s—t that gets you beat.
On Thursday night against the New York Jets, there were shades of all three. Ultimately, however, the good won out: the Patriots were able to take care of business and improve to 9-2 on the year behind a 27-14 victory. Still, if the coach wants to look at the Patriots through the three categories he established, who are we to disagree? So, let’s break down the Week 11 game in exactly that manner.
There are several areas that deserve to be highlighted, including TreVeyon Henderson scoring three touchdowns, the Patriots snapping a three-game streak of at least one turnover, or the defense coming through in the clutch yet again. However, our choice this week falls on the connection between quarterback Drake Maye and wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
In terms of numbers, the pair hooked up nine times for 105 yards — Diggs’ third 100-yard game of the season. While some meat was left on the bone, they were able to make several important plays on the day and consistently challenged the Jets through the air. Diggs finished with 5.3 total expected points added, or 0.48 per target, on the day.
On the year, the free agency pickup has now hauled in 59 passes from the second-year quarterback for 659 yards and a trio of touchdowns. He is leading the team in both receptions and receiving yards, as well as targets (72).
“It’s just football,” said Diggs after the game. “OTAs, to training camp, to practice throughout the year. Learning one another and finding those spots and doing what he feels comfortable with and, just doing my job. Obviously you get comfortable over the course of time, but everybody’s doing their job.”
Diggs doing his job helped the Patriots beat the Jets on Thursday, and has him well-positioned to earn some of his contract incentives: he is on track for 91 catches and 1,019 receiving yards, which would mean an extra $2 million coming his way.
With wide receiver Garrett Wilson out due to a knee injury, the Jets’ primary weapon on offense was quickly identified and treated accordingly. The Patriots knew that they could not allow running back Breece Hall to beat them, and so they focused on slowing him down as best as they could.
They did a decent job at that, keeping him to 64 yards on a combined 16 carries and receptions. However, that stat line came at the expense of leakage elsewhere: especially on the opening drive, which resulted in a touchdown, quarterback Justin Fields was able to gain significant yards as a runner.
On the night, most of his damage came on scramble drills: Fields finished with 40 yards and four first...
