TAMPA – All year long, basically, Patriots fans have been told to quiet their enthusiasm.
The Patriots are not contenders. Drake Maye is not an MVP candidate. This is a franchise that has lost 26 games in the past two years combined. We even brought in former NFL head coach Jim Mora just to tell us “Playoffs?! You talking about playoffs?!” as all of you retreated sheepishly with your tails between your legs.
That was then. This is now.
The Patriots went down to Tampa Bay and shocked Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers, 28-23 on Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium. The Patriots are now 8-2 and haven’t lost since the turnover stink-fest against Pittsburgh. With Buffalo losing at Miami, the Patriots effectively have a two-game lead over the Bills in the AFC East with one more meeting in Foxborough on tap in December.
Now for the good part. This is why you can invoke President Franklin Roosevelt’s favorite song. Something to do with happy days.
Yes folks, you can now say the following:
The Patriots are solid favorites to win the division.
The Patriots are a solid contender to win the conference and advance to the (deep breaths here) Super Bowl.
Maye is a solid contender for MVP.
Thus, the reference to the song that led our nation out of the Great Depression. For Patriots Nation, the last three seasons have been a great depression. No longer. This team is for real. Barring unforeseen horrific injuries (Maye is sliding more, thank goodness), it’s going to be a fun January around these parts. Just like the good old days.
Actually, it wasn’t as much Maye who won this game for the Patriots as it was other folks. Mike Vrabel outcoached Todd Bowles, and Bowles did a great job in his own right. The defense gave up its perfunctory opening drive touchdown, and it was mostly all Patriots after that. And of the four touchdowns the Patriots scored, three of them went for 50 or more yards, and all three of those touchdowns were scored by rookies.
We will begin with the defense. Mayfield had a good day passing, and the rushing attack for the Bucs averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a team. Tight end Cade Otton bedeviled the Patriots all game long with 9 catches for 82 yards. Ohio State rookie Emeka Egbuka (who will not be the last player for which the term “Ohio State rookie” will be referenced) had 6 catches for 115 yards,, a touchdown, and an average just barely below 20 yards per catch, and this was with Christian Gonzalez guarding him most all game long. Despite all this, the Patriots won the battle of situational football and held down the Bucs offense while the Patriots were able to make a comeback and take two two-score leads in the second half. The Patriots did allow some chunks of yardage but in the end held off Mayfield and his offense just well enough to win the game.
Next, let’s praise the rookies. Of the three long gain touchdowns scored by the rookies, the first of them happened on the final play of the first quarter. Kyle Williams, the rookie from Washington State, maligned all season long for lack of targets and lack of production, caught a right sideline pass from Maye on first down and ten at the Patriot 28. Williams was covered by linebacker Chris Braswell Jr. Williams ran away from the slower linebacker and took it 72 yards down the right sideline to the house. It was a one-play scoring drive, and it tied the game at 7-7 as the first quarter expired.
The Patriots took the second-half kickoff and started from their 35-yard line. Mack Hollins (wearing shoes, by the way; some kickers used to kick barefoot) hauled in a 10-yard pass. On the next play, Ohio State rookie TreVeyon Henderson took the handoff and ran through a huge hole up the middle. Once past the second level, his navy blue shirt turned to scarlet and his pants turned from navy blue to gray. He ran 55 yards non-stop to the end zone and the Patriots had a 21-10 lead. Henderson could not be blamed if he ran to the Bucs bench and yelled “Hey, bro, remember me?” to Egbuka, his former Buckeye teammate.
To salt away the game in the fourth quarter, the Patriots took over at their own 30-yard line with 1:46 remaining. Henderson gained one yard on a left end run. On second down, Josh McDaniels called for the same play. This time, Henderson turned the corner, stumbled momentarily, then took off down the left sideline. Henderson is so well coached that just before he reached the end zone, he looked to Vrabel on the bench and asked if he was okay to score or to fall down and burn Tampa timeouts. Vrabel told him to score. It was 28-16 and that was pretty much it.
Vrabel, meanwhile, had perhaps the game’s finest moment in the final 7:16 of the first half. The Patriots methodically drove from the New England 22-yard line to the Tampa Bay 1-yard line with 1:44 left. On first down. Maye took the snap and knelt down as if it were a victory formation. CBS analyst Tony Romo, who is terrific at predicting calls just before they happen, could see what was going on almost immediately. On second down, Henderson was stuffed for no gain. With 19 seconds left, Vrabel called a timeout. On third down, Henderson again took a handoff and ran deliberately into a crowd of people for no gain. Vrabel then called a timeout with two seconds left. Vrabel eschewed a field goal and went for it. Maye dropped back as time expired, and lofted a perfect rainbow toss into the left corner of the end zone. Stefon Diggs made the leaping catch and kept all ten toenails inbounds to give the Patriots a 14-10 halftime lead. And they would get the ball to start the second half, which turned into Henderson’s first touchdown gallop.
This is why Patriot Nation should thank Bob Kraft for having the temerity to fire Jerrod Mayo after just one year and bring in Vrabel. Vrabel is the only human being who can match Bill Belichick for football brains, and he may actually have exceeded him over the years. It could be that if the Patriots do return to the glory days this year, Vrabel and not Maye will be the main reason why. But let’s not start that argument just now.
Maye’s numbers were pedestrian, completing 16 of 31 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns, one pick (an end zone pick) for a passer rating of 89.4. Henderson obviously had his best day as a pro, rushing for 147 yards on 14 carries. Hollins led the Patriots with six catches for 106 yards. The Patriots did not have Rhamondre Stevenson or Kayshon Boutte available and didn’t miss a beat on offense.
The Patriots have a brief break and then host the Jets on Thursday night at Gillette. The Jets have now won two games and ought not to be taken lightly. This could be the biggest trap game of them all.
Somehow, we don’t think that will happen. Vrabel will have his men ready to do what they should do to the lowly Jets. If happy days are truly here again, then sit back and enjoy Thursday night.
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Covering Boston Sports since 1997. Native of Worcester, Mass. Attended UMass and Univ of Michigan. Lives in California. Just recently retired after 40 years of public school teaching. Podcasts on YouTube at @thepic4139
at least three of Emeka Egbuka receptions were against a defender other than Christian Gonzalez including the touchdown, as Egbuka was lined up in the slot and was covered by Jones. Egbuka receptions Three in man coverage and three in zone coverage. Receptions versus Gonzalez two in man and one in zone for about 58 yards no TD’s