New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots pulled off their most dominant win of the Drake Maye era on Sunday with 42-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.
Suddenly, Mike Vrabel’s club is 2-2, and joyous optimism is back on the menu in New England.
One of the best parts about Sunday’s win (and there were many) was the breakout performance of 31-year-old wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who had his best game as a Patriot. Diggs led all New England receivers with six catches (seven targets), and 101 receiving yards, which included a 33-yard catch in the second quarter, Diggs’s longest reception in a New England uniform.
Per the Patriots Communications Department, Sunday was Diggs’s 37th career game with 100 or more receiving yards.
Diggs’s productive afternoon also signaled something promising about New England’s receiving corps in 2025. With Diggs and fellow Patriots wideout Kayshon Boutte now having each logged a 100-yard receiving game on the season, it’s the first time two or more Pats receivers have done so since 2020, per MassLive’s Mark Daniels.
Diggs’s success as a slot receiver on Sunday might result in him replacing DeMario Douglas for the Patriots in that role.
It’s beginning to look like Maye has two or three viable weapons around him, given the play of Diggs, Boutte, and tight end Hunter Henry so far this season.
After the game, Maye had this to say about Diggs: “He looked a little faster than I thought. He looked pretty fast. I think he’s just getting more and more comfortable. He’s a great player with the ball in his hands. He’s a great leader on this team… I’m glad he’s a Patriot.”
