Where has this New England Patriots team been all year? Coming in as huge underdogs, New England shocked the NFL by going up by 14 points early. That’s the obvious note from Sunday’s game.
But don’t let that distract you from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt finally calling the sort of play for Drake Maye that fans (and media) have been clamoring for all year.
Here are some observations and knickknacks (AKA NickNacks) I came up with while watching the first half of Sunday’s game between the and Buffalo Bills.
— The most fascinating play-call of the first half didn’t even make it into the box score. That would be a designed quartberack run in the redzone where Maye faked a handoff and took off running. It’s the exact type of play that fans and media have been asking about. It’s the type of play that Jerod Mayo got into a little trouble talking about last week.
— It didn’t work. Maye didn’t gain any yardage. On top of that, Austin Hooper got called for holding. Still, it was pretty notable that the Patriots decided to call Maye’s number on a run. They’ve clearly tried to avoid it all year.
— Wow, now that’s a gutsy call. The Patriots called a fake punt on their own 23-yard line — and got it! That’s the sort of aggression you need if you really want to take it to a heavily favored rival.
— Temperatures sat at around 14 degrees at kickoff in Buffalo — with the wind chill dropping down to the single digits. Now that’s December football!
— Maye “took a page out of Josh Allen’s playbook,” according to broadcaster Ian Eagle. The rookie threw up a pass that looked ill-advised at first. But it drew a pass interference flag from a Bills defender that was out of position. It looked like a really savvy play by Maye.
— That same drive, Maye threw an absolute dime of a pass to Kayshon Boutte down the sideline for a 28-yard touchdown. We’ve seen some really nice deep balls from Maye to Boutte this year.
— Maye repeatedly bailed the Patriots out when they were behind the sticks on 3rd-and-lond. He was nothing short of brilliant in this one.
— The Patriots were 0-for-6 last week in Arizona. They were 4-for-4 on third downs in the first quarter in Buffalo. What a world of difference a week makes.
— The offensive line did just enough to keep things in control. There were the plays where a guy will get torched or committed a penalty (looking at you, Demontrey Jacobs). But they held together just well enough to get things going early.
— Rhamondre Stevenson reminded us why he’s one of the best players on the roster. He was absolutely unstoppable on his 14-yard touchdown run.
— Maye got bailed out by the refs on 1st-and-goal. Flipped out the ball weakly on a scramble. He didn’t get back to the line of scrimmage. It would have been generous to describe Hunter Henry as “in the area.” Probably should have been called intentional grounding
— It feels like the Patriots give up a huge running play at least once per week. This time it was a 46-yard touchdown run by James Cook. Marte Mapu got completely lost in traffic. They really missed Jabrill Peppers on that play.
— Yes, Marte Mapu! No, Marte Mapu! The second-year defender made a great play by picking off a pass from Josh Allen in the endzone. He made a bone-head decision by trying to return it instead of kneeling down. It seemed like even he knew he beefed it. The safety tossed the ball out of frustration after the play.
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