The New England Patriots lost. Again. It’s the same story we’ve seen throughout the season. Drake Maye looked great. The offensive line and receivers stunk. The defense made backbreaking errors.
But there were a couple of bright spots, including a young star making his case for a Pro Bowl nod.
What happened? Here are my biggest takeaways in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s game. FINAL SCORE: Cardinals 30 – Patriots 17
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— Things are miserable in the short term. But there is some positive news. With the loss, the Patriots are still on track for the No. 3 overall pick. They could move up if the Raiders beat the Falcons on Monday night.
— Christian Gonzalez is an absolute stud. The second-year cornerback did wonders for his Pro Bowl campaign in shutting down Cardinals star rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. Gonzalez finished the game with three pass breakups, include a pair of brilliant plays that prevented touchdowns.
— Here’s how CBS analyst Jay Feeley put it: “Christian Gonzalez is one of the best corners in the NFL.”
— Drake Maye played better than the stats suggest. He continues to play with more poise than you’d expect from a player his age. The problem is that the pass protection stinks and his receivers are even worse.
— Maye continues to produce magic — as his savvy quick flip to Pop Douglas showed. But as long as the team around Maye continues to stink, it’s not going to amount to much.
— It took until the closing minutes of the game, but the Patriots finally let Maye run wild at the goal line. The rookie showed off his athleticism on a 5-yard touchdown run to close the game to 30-17.
— Good news! Maye is doing a good job of avoiding big hits, whether it’s by running out of bounds or sliding before contact.
— I would say Maye’s turnover woes continued. But it’s hard to say that when it came in the form of a ball bouncing off Kayshon Boutte’s hands for an interception.
— The weapons and offensive line the Patriots have around Maye should be classified as workplace negligence.
— Here’s a weird stat: New England’s leading receiver at halftime was Marcus Jones, who’s a defensive back who came in for one snap on offense. It went for an 18-yard gain.
— Jones stayed the leading receiver until Maye hit Hunter Henry for an 8-yard gain with 1:47 left in the third quarter.
— Layden Robinson remains a work in progress at left guard. He’s had a few brutal plays, including a complete whiff on 3rd-and-1 in the red zone. He’s known as a mauler, but he needs to be more consistent.
— The defense has some talent. They’ve played good in stretched. But they’re prone to dumb mistakes that either give up long gains or undo their own big plays.
— One example: An absolute gift of an interception from Kyler Murray got taken off the board after a tough roughing the passer call on Anfernee Jennings. Even CBS rules analyst Gene Sterator said it “didn’t feel like roughing to me.”
— Cardinals star tight end Trey McBride made an unfortunate sort of history Sunday. He broke the NFL record for most catches in a season without scoring a touchdown with 87.
— To Arizona’s credit, the team did try to get him into the endzone. The Cardinals drew up a shovel pass at the goal line. However, Christian Elliss and Davon Godchaux stonewalled him at the goal line with an impressive stop.
— But the Patriots can’t have good things this year. They gave up an easy rushing touchdown to James Conner on the ensuing play.
