Drake Maye Shines In The Patriots 33-27 Win Over Miami
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The Patriots showed a lot resolve, they fought through several lead changes but eventually held on to beat the Miami Dolphins 33-27, their first win in Miami since Tom Brady was the QB.
It was a satisfying win, because the players know that Miami has never been a particularly good place to play for them. Tua Tagovailoa was undefeated against New England (7-0), including 4-0 in Miami. But with the new Vrabel era in town, the Patriots were looking for a fresh start. And on Sunday, they did.
It was very sloppy at times, the Patriots were slapped with 12 penalties, still far too many of the pre-snap variety, major issues in coverages persist, a roller coaster of special teams play, but in the end, they made a play more than the Dolphins did and when Milton Williams dispatched Tua Tagovailoa to the turf, the Patriots were going to be flying home from Miami victors.
And when those wins are so few and far between, you take it and revel in it. The bad plays and film study can wait a few hours. Bask in this one, for the night. They earned it.
“We’re not front-runners,” Vrabel said in his postgame presser. “And that’s a big thing in this league.”
Despite all of the promise that Drake Maye has generated this spring/summer under Josh McDaniels, there’s always the blowhards on talk radio that say, “well he has yet to get a signature win, where he put the team on his back, he’s just been along for the ride.”
Remember, he’s in essence still a rookie without even a season’s worth of starts under his belt, and let’s not forget, that 40 games ago, Maye was in friggin’ high school. In contrast, Jayden Daniels had a 55 game college career. It takes time.
Well, Maye got his win today. He came out, cool and in control, leading the team to back-to-back touchdown drives, and when Tua and Miami came back to take the lead, Maye put the team on his back.
Stepping up in the pocket to elude pressure from Jaelan Phillips, Maye delivered a 55-yard pass to Stevenson to get near the red zone. It was the longest completion of Maye’s two-year career. He then capped off the drive with a 6-yard scramble for a touchdown, just past the outstretched arms of old friend Matthew Judon. Stevenson rushed for a two-point conversion to extend the lead to three points.
And despite the craziness that ensued in the kicking game (the kicking game in Miami has had some strange twists), this was Maye’s game from start to finish.
There were no turnovers or turnover worthy plays. He finished 19-23 for 230 yards with two TDs passing for a QB rating of 137.3. He also rushed for the aforementioned score.
“We were preaching all week start fast,” Maye said. “We did that, and we knew they could respond, and they responded well.”
Stevenson was not a factor in the loss to the Raiders last week, but had arguably his best game in a very long time against the Dolphins. In the first half, McDaniels wanted to establish the run, and Stevenson was at his best, bulldozing his way to the second level.
Although he didn’t find the end zone, he played key roles in the Patriots scoring drives. He rushed 11 times for 54 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per rush, he caught five passes on five targets for 88 yards including that 55-yarder from Maye.
It was a difficult catch, and Stevenson made some nice moves in the open field to pile on some YAC. The Patriots stuck with the hot hand and Stevenson rewarded the team with 142 combined yards on his 16 touches.
Some other observations included:
Mack Hollins scored his first TD as a Patriots, running a nice route where he was wide open in the end zone to open the scoring.
Kayshon Boutte had a great TD catch (from a outstanding throw from Maye) in the end zone, one handing the ball as he went down to the turf covered by former Patriot Jack Jones.
Tua may have come out second best today, but for most of the first three quarters he once again had his way with the Patriots secondary. Fans were lamenting the lack of pass rush on social media, but he was getting rid of the ball in about two seconds.
Miami did a great job of isolating DeVon Achane on Patriots linebackers which is a mismatch. He had 92 yards receiving, including a 29-yard touchdown, but was held in check in the running game.
It was only late in the game, where the coverages held up a bit more, forcing him to hold the ball a tick longer, allowing the Patriots pass rushers to get home. They finished with five sacks.
The offensive line, if they cut out all the pre-snap penalties, will immensely help the offense. Too, too often, they were playing behind the chains. These issues are correctable. It could be the snap tempo is something they are not yet meshing with.
But the pass protection was good, Maye was pressured on only five of his dropbacks. And they generated enough room to run for more than 120 yards. Balance was the key to their success today, something that was missing last week.
One area of pass protection that was of concern was TreVeyon Henderson, who allowed two sacks and was flagged for holding. That is his strong suit. But he did have two 15-yard catches in the passing game.
Rookie kicker Andy Borregales missed the first two extra points today, he then came back to hit two field goals, including a pressure 53-yarder late in the game. What was that about green bananas again?
The coverage unit gave up a 71-yard punt return for a TD giving Miami back the lead, but just for 12 seconds. Then Antonio Gibson returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to put the Patriots back on top for good.
The image that will remain however, was Vrabel sprinting down the sideline beside Gibson. That one will someday soon, grace the hallways of One Patriots Place…
The Patriots return home next weekend against the Steelers who lost in Pittsburgh to the Seahawks today.
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It’s a damned good thing the side judge was not in harm’s way Steve! Old #50 might have turned him into Gumby!
That was an iconic kind of moment, but it perfectly encapsulates who he is.