The Patriots are one of the biggest surprises of this football season, and clearly, the NFL has taken notice.
On Monday, the league announced that the Patriots’ Week 16 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens has been moved to Sunday Night Football on Dec. 21.
Originally, the schedule had Mike Vrabel’s team playing in Baltimore at 1 p.m. The Cincinnati Bengals were originally in that Sunday night slot against the Miami Dolphins. With the Bengals dropping to 4-9 and the Dolphins at 6-7, the NFL opted to move the 11-2 Patriots to prime time at 8:20 p.m.
This matchup will feature MVP frontrunner Drake Maye opposing 2-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. It’s a marquee matchup between a rising star and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Jackson missed three games this season in October due to a knee injury. He’s thrown for 2,060 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 307 yards with two touchdowns this season.
Maye has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this fall. The second-year player is currently first in the NFL in completion percentage (71.5), second in passing yards (3,412), second in passer rating (111.9), and fourth in passing touchdowns (23).
The Patriots are coming out of their bye week with a chance to win the AFC East division for the first time since 2019. They’ll clinch the division title with a win over the Buffalo Bills.
“We’re just trying to play for the championship that we have available this week, and I think it’s a great testament to our players that have put us in this position to be able to do that,” Vrabel said on Monday. “Again, that’s not going to be easy. This is a very good football team. There’s a reason that they’ve won this division five years in a row. A lot of respect for them. They’re never out of it, never down, and they may be down, and just like last week, it’s a football team that understands that somebody’s going to make a play. And then the quarterback is going to give them a chance to the very end.”
A week after playing the Bills, Vrabel’s team will travel to Baltimore, where they’ll now play in primetime, putting the Patriots and Maye back on a national stage.
