Orchard Park, NY â The Patriots got back in the race with an impressive 29-26 victory over the Bills at the new Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
First of all, New England, R-E-L-A-X. We can all relax about the quarterback, the head coach, and yours truly can give some flowers to OC Josh McDaniels as the Patriots pulled off a massive upset in Buffalo to get back on track at 2-2. The mantra for head coach Mike Vrabel this week was to be the reason this team gets back into the race. Vrabel spent the week preaching accountability and holding teammates to a higher standard after New England fell in a 36-5 loss to the Jaguars last Sunday â that wasn't Patriots football.
On Sunday, the Patriots showed great resilience, standing in the middle of the ring with Josh Allen and the Bills, capped by Drake Maye leading his second fourth-quarter comeback and third game-winning drive of his young career in a hostile environment. Maye connected on passes for 14 yards (Henry), 12 yards (Doubs), 19 yards (Chism), and a highlight-reel go-ahead touchdown catch by Efton Chism III (23 yards). Then, the Patriots defense closed out the game by intercepting Allen on a fourth-quarter heave downfield.
"It gets us back in the race," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "We knew it was going to be a battle. Josh (Allen) is unbelievable. Drake went toe-to-toe with him."
Several sequences spoke to the Patriots resilience in Sunday's win, like recovering from a sloppy end-of-half sequence or the defense playing down two key starters (Barmore, Gonzalez). However, Maye showed franchise quarterback-type resilience. After a rough start to the season and countless think pieces on what was wrong with Maye, we were going to learn a lot about the Pats QB's mental toughness as a still-developing quarterback: was Maye going to fold or was he going to bounce back?
Maye, at least this week, bounced back decisively. Along with leading the game-winning drive, the Patriots offense scored twice as many touchdowns in Buffalo (4) as they scored in the first three weeks combined (2). If this is how the 24-year-old handles a bad stretch, New England is in good hands with Maye under center and Vrabel guiding this team through rough patches.
"It's relieving a little bit. But we still have some work left out there," Maye said post-game. "Coach (Vrabel) always says don't ride the roller coaster, and that's what we are going to do."
Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots pull even to 2-2 with a win in Buffalo in Week 4.
1. Play of the Game: WR Efton Chism III's One-Handed TD Catch to Take the Lead
The Patriots game-winning drive ended with an exclamation point from WR Efton Chism III, who made a terrific one-handed touchdown grab to give New England the lead. Chism was in because starter Mack Hollins left the game with a calf injury, and Vrabel noted that it's an example of a player taking advantage of his opportunity.
"I saw it in the air, and Drake gave me an opportunity, and you got to come down with those opportunities," Chism said. "When I'm out there, and the ball's in the air, I kind of black out. I'm kind of in that little flow state."
On the play, the Bills create pressure by blitzing S Damar Hamlin from over the slot. Maye senses the pressure, so he rolls right to buy time for Chism to get downfield. Chism runs a go route while RB Rhamondre Stevenson releases upfield on a wheel route, giving Maye two 1-on-1 matchups. Maye picks Chism to throw to as the edge rusher peels off to cover Stevenson, and Chism makes the incredible catch.
"When he threw that last touchdown and we came off the field, I said that's who the (expletive) you are. The best in the (expletive) world. That's how I feel," said LT Will Campbell of Maye.
2. QB Drake Maye Out-Duels Josh Allen in the Bills QB's New Home
With this being the first trip to the new Highmark Stadium, Maye outplaying Allen was a great way for the Patriots to renew what has become a great rivalry between the two AFC East stars.
Maye finished the game 22-of-39 for 269 passing yards and three touchdowns. Although he still turned the ball over twice, the Pats QB produced +0.35 EPA per drop-back, while Allen produced +0.14 EPA per play. In total, Maye added +16.2 expected points while Allen produced only 6.2 total EPA, so by both the advanced numbers and the final score, Maye outplayed his counterpart on Sunday.
Along with his game-winning touchdown pass, Maye was locked in from the start, leading the Patriots on a 12-play touchdown drive on their opening possession. Maye got into the game with a 15-yard scramble and completed six of his first seven passes, capping it with a 14-yard touchdown pass to WR Romeo Doubs.
On the touchdown pass, Maye got through his progressions with more poise in the pocket than he showed through the first three weeks. To his right, the Pats run a "bluff" screen where they fake a WR screen to DeMario Douglas, with the goal that Buffalo will jump the screen and the delayed routes will open downfield. The Bills stay over the bluff screen side, so Maye progresses to the backside, where Doubs wins on the in-breaker.
Maye trusting the Patriots passing concepts and his receivers to get open was a welcome sight. In the first three weeks, we saw Maye lose patience and bail from clean pockets because he didn't trust what was going on around him. On Sunday, it all clicked, and Maye played within the offense's structure with much better execution.
3. Patriots Defense Delivers Knockout Blow by Going Back to Man Coverage
Moving over to the defense, the Patriots game plan aimed to keep Allen in the pocket and limit the Bills rushing attack by playing zone coverage on 71.4% of the Bills drop-backs. Without star CB Christian Gonzalez (inactive, shoulder), it makes sense that the Pats played 25 snaps in zone coverage to only 10 man-coverage snaps. Although he landed some punches, Allen averaged just 6.8 yards per pass attempt against the Patriots zones (I'm interested to watch the film to see how the Patriots limited TE Dalton Kincaid to one catch for seven yards).
However, the knockout punch for the Patriots defense came in man coverage. The Pats catch the Bills routes out of a tight bunch formation with Cover-1 (man). In the pass rush, New England runs a stunt over the left side of the Bills O-Line with DT Milton Williams setting a pick for OLB Dre'Mont Jones to loop inside. Jones pressures Allen on the loop, which forces the Bills QB into scramble mode, and Allen heaves a deep ball to WR Joshua Palmer, but safety Craig Woodson high-points it downfield for the game-sealing INT.
Whenever you go up against a quarterback of Allen's caliber, you hope to capitalize on his mistakes and weather the storm, which is exactly what the Patriots defense did on Sunday.
4. WR Romeo Doubs Catches Two Touchdown Passes in Win Over Bills
The connection between Maye and free-agent addition Romeo Doubs has been a work in progress to start the season. On Sunday, it still wasn't perfect, with Maye throwing an interception targeting Doubs on a slant (Maye took the blame for a low throw). Still, like the rest of the offense, it was a step in the right direction. Doubs caught six passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns, including two key fourth-down conversions.
On a fourth-down conversion in the third quarter, Maye went to Doubs on an out-breaker, Doubs's best route. Doubs releases as the point man in a two-receiver stack, and the Bills let him free release against off- coverage. He pushes vertical before breaking out past the sticks and Maye hits him in rhythm â that's exactly how it's supposed to look.
Doubs's second touchdown was also pretty. Doubs is the lone receiver outside the formation against Bills CB Maxwell Hairston. Maye might have the option here to pop up and throw the fade or hand the ball off to Stevenson depending on the defense's structure. This time, he throws the goal-line fade, and Doubs rewards him with a solid catch through contact.
Although some will point to the interception, the Maye-to-Doubs duo is making positive strides, with improving chemistry four weeks into this new connection.
5. Patriots Run Game Good, Pass Protection Still an Area of Improvement
The good news is that the Patriots run game also woke up from an early-season slump, producing 12 successful runs between Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. The Pats finished the game with a 45% rushing success rate (75th percentile), by far their best rushing success rate in their four games this season. At first glance, it looked like outside zone and "trap" schemes gave New England's backs rushing lanes on Sunday.
Although the run game gets a gold star, Maye was still under too much pressure. According to NextGen Stats, Maye was under pressure on 42.9% of his drop-backs. LT Will Campbell had a shaky performance, allowing six total pressures (3 hits, 3 hurries) and getting called for a hold that wiped out a successful third-down scramble. Backup RG Ben Brown and LG Alijah Vera-Tucker also allowed three pressures apiece. To his credit, Maye handled the pressure much better this week, but that's not sustainable.
6. Patriots Run Defense Falters Late vs. Bills RB James Cook
Another huge game within the game was whether the Patriots defense could control the line of scrimmage against the Bills top-ranked rushing attack. Statistically, Cook had a highly efficient game, averaging 6.3 yards per rush (75 yards, 12 carries) with eight successful runs. Cook also got going in the second half with three runs of 10-plus yards. Buffalo finished with a 50% rushing success rate (89th percentile). Frankly, the Bills probably didn't lean on the run game enough. Along with pass protection, New England's run defense was another area where the trenches struggled on Sunday.
7. Rookie Gabe Jacas Continues to Flash Early in his Patriots Career
My excitement level for Patriots second-rounder Gabe Jacas keeps rising with each passing week. Jacas's physicality and motor are translating to the pro game while it's clear that he has settled down with more opponent film study during the regular season. On Sunday, Jacas had three quarterback pressures and stuffed a run. On one pressure, Jacas bull-rushed Pro Bowl LT Dion Dawkins to force Allen into a throwaway from his own end zone. The Patriots might've found something with Jacas, which would be huge for a defense that needs some pass-rush juice to emerge off the edge from its younger players.
8. P Mitch Wishnowsky Making his Case to be the Patriots Top Punter
The Patriots will have a decision to make with incumbent punter Bryce Baringer eligible to return off injured reserve in Week 5. Wishnowsky has punted well, including a 52-yard net average with one I20 on Sunday. Wishnowsky's punt that pinned Buffalo on its own 11-yard line was a great "banana ball" that caused returner Greg Dortch to run into gunner Erick Hunter. K Andy Borregales was also 3-for-3 on extra points and punt returner Marcus Jones made a heady play to pick up a batted ball by the Bills coverage unit and return it, which can't result in a lost fumble.
After enjoying this over the next 24 hours, New England will need to turn the page quickly to a surprisingly competitive Raiders team back at Gillette Stadium in Week 5.
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DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
