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10 takeaways from Patriots’ impressive road win over Buccaneers
Patriots rookies TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams accounted for three touchdowns on Sunday.
The Patriots’ win streak has now extended to seven games, and hopes of a deep playoff run are starting to grow in Foxborough.
In their most daunting challenge of the season so far, New England went into Tampa and came away with a 28-23 win over the Buccaneers.
It was another impressive showing from a Patriots team that is continuing to stake its claim as a legitimate contender.
Here are 10 takeaways from Sunday’s win.
The Patriots might be legitimate contenders
Critics of the Patriots could have pointed to their 7-2 record entering Sunday’s game in Tampa as fool’s gold — considering their lighter schedule so far this year.
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Those criticisms should ring hollow after New England (8-2) went into Tampa and did enough to beat one of the top teams in the NFC in the Bucs.
It wasn’t easy, but Mike Vrabel and his staff should be pleased with another game where players on both sides of the ball executed in critical situations to help New England win its seventh game in a row.
Sunday stood as the statement game that the Patriots have been looking forward to ever since that upset win over Buffalo a few weeks back.
It’s unclear how many more “upsets” are going to be prescribed for New England the rest of the way.
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Because this team is looking like a legitimate contender in the AFC.
Drake Maye continues to make plays amid growing pains
A costly fourth-quarter interception did stand as a sour end to another dominant day for Maye, who was hearing more MVP chants at Raymond James Stadium after uncorking another deep ball down the field in crunch time to Mack Hollins.
But even with that turnover, it was yet another encouraging game from the second-year QB — who finished the game completing 16-of-31 throws for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and that one pick.
The Patriots have opened themselves up to some close results over the last few weeks due to turnovers from Maye, but those growing pains will be accepted (and ideally cleaned up) as the young QB continues to torch opposing defenses with deep balls down the field.
The kids are more than alright
With Kayshon Boutte sidelined with a hamstring injury and Rhamondre Stevenson hampered with a toe issue, New England was going to need other players to step up as explosive playmakers against a stingy Tampa team.
Enter Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson.
For all of the questions and concerns regarding New England’s depth (especially after a quiet trade deadline), New England’s skill rookies rose to the occasion on Sunday — with the youngsters accounting for three total touchdowns in the win.
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Williams — who entered the game with two catches for 20 yards so far this season — opened the scoring for New England with a 72-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter, while Henderson broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown on just the third play of the third quarter. Henderson added another 69-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter that gave his team the lead for good.
In total, Williams and Henderson accounted for 222 of New England’s 435 total net yards on offense Sunday.
It was a strong afternoon for New England’s rookie class in general. Will Campbell and Jared Wilson were solid on a Patriots offensive line that bounced back against tough outings against Cleveland and Atlanta (one sack against Maye). Safety Craig Woodson made eight tackles and batted down two passes, while Elijah Ponder recorded his first career sack to help force a Tampa punt in the fourth quarter.
Another slow start
For the seventh time in 10 games this season, the Patriots’ defense opened a game by giving up points — with Baker Mayfield and the Bucs making short work of New England’s defensive personnel.
It took Tampa just six plays and 3:37 of game action to find the end zone, as Mayfield hit rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka for a 21-yard touchdown to put the home team ahead.
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While Egbuka was primarily covered by Christian Gonzalez on Sunday, the former Ohio State wideout cashed in off of a coverage bust where he was able to waltz into the end zone for six points.
New England’s defense did tighten up by forcing three-straight punts on Tampa’s next three drives.
But slow starts have continued to plague this team, with Maye and the Patriots offense subsequently stalling out on their opening drive amid a brief downpour that hit Raymond James Stadium.
Williams gives New England another home run hitter
The writing was on the wall that Williams was due for a greater role in Week 10, especially with Maye’s top deep threat in Boutte not in the equation.
It hasn’t been the easiest transition for Williams through the first nine weeks of the NFL season, with the rookie failing to get on the same page with Maye on several throws so far this fall.
But the Washington State product’s speed is legit — as he showcased with that 72-yard score in the first quarter.
So long as Maye can continue to hit wideouts in stride with these types of throws, a player with Williams’ physical talents should be able to land some haymakers within Josh McDaniels’ offensive scheme.
With Maye’s 72-yard pass to Williams and a 58-yard pass to Pop Douglas against the Falcons, Maye is the first Patriots QB with a 50-yard pass in back to back games since Tom Brady in the 2017 season.
Vrabel’s clock management gamble pays off
Mike Vrabel and the Patriots opted to roll the dice at the end of the second quarter on a sequence that helped New England orchestrate a crucial double-score surge.
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After Tampa took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter off a Chase McLaughlin field goal, New England held onto the ball for the remainder of the first half — bringing the ball all the way to Tampa’s 1-yard line.
With New England staring at 1st-and-goal from Tampa’s 1 and with 1:44 left on the clock, Vrabel and the Patriots opted to let the clock run with Tampa now longer having any timeouts — with Maye essentially committing to a modified kneel down on first down to drain time.
Of course, relinquishing a chance to punch the ball in on the 1-yard amid such a critical sequence could backfire spectacularly if New England couldn’t cash in with a touchdown.
But on fourth down, New England finally found the end zone — with Stefon Diggs reeling in a 1-yard touchdown just as time expired to give the Patriots the lead … and prevent the Bucs from getting a chance to answer.
It was a gutsy call, but one that allowed New England to both take the lead and later add to that score in the following quarter.
Henderson executes double-score
After Diggs gave New England the lead at the end of the first half, it didn’t take long for Henderson to give the Patriots some breathing room.
On just the third play of New England’s opening drive in the third quarter, Henderson surged through a running lane generated by Morgan Moses — breaking loose for a 55-yard touchdown.
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It’s been an uneven rookie season for Henderson, but his speed makes him a game-changer when he has room to operate.
According to Next Gen Stats, Henderson reached a top speed of 22.01 miles per hour on that touchdown run — the fastest speed by a rookie ball carrier this season, and the fifth fastest by any ball carrier.
As noted by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Sunday marked the first game that the Patriots have recorded both a passing and rushing touchdown of 50-plus yards since Week 4 of the 1997 season. In that game, Drew Bledsoe connected with Troy Brown on a 52-yard passing touchdown, while Curtis Martin had a 70-yard rushing score.
Patriots defense steps up, Henderson ices game
The full Drake Maye experience was put on display in the fourth quarter as New England tried to put the Bucs away.
New England’s defense largely limited Mayfield and Co. in crunch time, with the Patriots needing one more scoring drive to put the game out of reach.
The Patriots nearly got it in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter — especially after Maye hit Mack Hollins (six catches, 106 yards) for a 54-yard pickup on a 3rd-and-14 play to put New England at Tampa’s 8-yard line.
All New England needed was a field goal to make it an eight-point game, but Maye was knocked for an end-zone interception to squander a fruitful drive.
Mayfield and the Bucs marched all the way down to New England’s 27-yard line, but eventually turned the ball over on downs after K’Lavon Chaisson brought the pressure and forced a hurried throw that went for negative yardage.
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A strong stretch of complementary football ended when Henderson broke free for his second touchdown of the day — reeling off a 69-yard score to all but end the game with under two minutes to play in regulation.
Patriots defense passes another tough test
The bad news? An opposing running back gained over 50 yards against New England’s defense for the first time all season, with Sean Tucker finishing the game with 43 yards on the ground.
And all things considered, Vrabel and Co. likely aren’t thrilled that Tampa scored late in the fourth quarter after Henderson’s TD — requiring Diggs to reel in an onside kick to end this game.
But New England’s defense still stood tall against a dynamic QB in Mayfield for most of the afternoon.
Even though Tampa is operating without top weapons like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Bucs are still a dangerous offense — one that was forced to punt six times on Sunday against the Patriots.
For all of the talk about New England’s lack of pass-rushing options, Chaisson (now up to a career-high 6.5 sacks) continues to dole out plenty of damage, while New England’s defensive line of Barmore, Milton Williams, and Khyiris Tonga doesn’t allow a lot of yardage up the gut.
Patriots stung by injury bug again
The injuries are continuing to pile up for New England.
Already without some key playmakers in Boutte and Stevenson, New England had multiple injury scares on Sunday — with key players like Marcus Jones, Christian Barmore, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jaylinn Hawkins all needing to be looked at by trainers on the field due to a myriad of ailments.
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For all of those injury scares, all of those players did manage to return to the game at various segments — although Barmore was later deemed as “questionable to return” in the fourth quarter with what was deemed a back injury.
New England did lose running back Terrell Jennings in the first half, as the former practice-squad signee was ruled out with a knee injury.
As all of these injuries continue to mount on New England’s roster, the Patriots aren’t getting much of a rest with the team set to resume play on Thursday against the Jets — and with the bye week still not until Week 14.
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LIVE UPDATES
4:06: Diggs recovers the onside kick and this one is over.
FINAL: Patriots beat the Bucs, 28-23. Another impressive win for New England.
More to come on Boston.com!
4:03: This isn’t over quite yet. Baker Mayfield leads Tampa on a touchdown drive. It’s 28-22 with 33 seconds left. New England will need to recover an onside kick to end this game.
3:56: TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS.
TreVeyon Henderson ices this game with a 69-yard touchdown.
Patriots lead, 28-16.
Patriots are about to win their seventh game in a row.
3:53: Gonzalez and Woodson crush Otton — and Spillane nearly picks it off.
Bucs are facing a 4th and 3 — and Chaisson brings the pressure to force a turnover on fourth down.
New England ball.
3:44: Can’t have that. Maye is picked off in the end zone.
Not good.
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Bucs have a chance to take the lead with a touchdown.
3:40: Maye’s deep ball strikes again. Mack Hollins reels in a 54-yard catch on third down.
Patriots now on Tampa’s 8.
3:37: Great play by Gonzalez to snuff out a tunnel screen on third down. Bucs punting again.
3:35: Elijah Ponder picks a good time for his first NFL sack. Great play to get past Tristian Wirfs.
3:35: Christian Barmore is now questionable to return with a back injury.
3:32: Hollins picks up nine on a curl route, but he can’t move the chains.
New England is punting the ball away.
3:27: Bucs seemingly convet on a 4th down, but a pick play by Tampa results in a flag. Tampa is now punting on a 4th and 13.
3:20: End Third: Patriots lead the Bucs, 21-16.
3:18: New England’s aggressiveness backfires there, as New England’s 4th-and-5 attempt from Tampa’s 42 stalls after Maye’s throw to Diggs is incomplete.
Bucs taking over.
3:16: And now Henderson is hurt after getting rolled up.
3:13: Looked like Maye was getting sacked there, but he gets the ball out and hits Hollins for a first down.
3:06: Touchdown Bucs.
Mayfield extends the play and then hits Tez Johnson for a TD. New England’s defense was carved up on that whole drive.
The two-point conversion is no good.
It’s 21-16.
3:05: Now Jaylinn Hawkins is banged up after contesting a ball in the end zone. Dell Pettus now in at safety.
3:01: Barmore is back on defense.
2:58: Barmore is walking off under his own power is and on the bench, not the blue medical tent.
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2:56: Christian Barmore is hurt. Not good.
2:52: Marcus Jones is back on defense. It looks like both he and the Patriots dodged a bullet.
2:51: Henderson can’t get going on New England’s latest drive. New England punts it away.
2:46: Marcus Jones is hurting after that muffed punt. He’s walking off on his own power.
2:44: New England’s defense stands tall again, forcing a punt.
2:40: Terrell Jennings has been ruled out with a knee injury.
2:37: TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS.
After Kyle Williams scores a 71-yard touchdown, fellow rookie TreVeyon Henderson breaks through with a 55-yard rushing touchdown.
It’s 21-10 Patriots.
2:21: TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS.
On fourth down, Diggs reels in a 1-yard catch to give New England a 14-10 lead.
Vrabel’s gamble with clock management pays off in a major way.
New England has the ball to start the second half.
2:18: Quite the gamble from Vrabel to essentially waste a down but to kill the clock. We’ll see if it pays off.
2:12: Patriots running into penalty woes, but Maye converts against the blitz and hits Pop Douglas for a 26-yard pickup.
Two-minute warning.
2:07: Diggs has come to play today. He picks up 19 on a crosser.
2:01: Egbuka continues to gash New England’s defense, but New England’s defense holds Tampa to a field goal.
It’s 10-7 Tampa with 7:16 left in the first half.
1:54: Terrell Jennings (knee) is questionable to return for the Patriots.
1:53: Maye and the Patriots punt once again after a 3rd-and-3 pass is batted down. Maye is 5-for-12 on throws so far.
1:48: Kyle Williams is fast. Really fast.
1:47: New England’s defense steps up again, forcing another punt. Gonzalez has done a good job on Egbuka after that opening drive.
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1:40: Hello, Kyle Williams.
The rookie wideout — who entered the game with two catches all year — takes a pass from Maye and runs it in for a 72-yard TOUCHDOWN.
Patriots and Bucs are tied, 7-7.
1:38: K’Lavon Chaisson posts a new career-high with 6.5 sacks. That takedown forces another punt by New England’s defense.
1:33: Despite those first-down pickups by Diggs and Henderson, New England has to punt again.
1:30: After a slow start on the ground game, TreVeyon Henderson breaks through on a 16-yard pickup.
1:25: Patriots defense steps up, and forces a punt. Gonzalez sticks to Egbuka and prevents a third-down pickup.
Unfortunately, Marcus Jones slips on the 6-yard line and New England has a long ways to go to open this drive.
1:22: Gibbens had a great chance to pick off Mayfield there. Couldn’t reel it in.
1:15: Patriots are punting. Three throws from Maye to Hollins and none were all that close.
1:13: Patriots convert on a 4th and 1 on their own 43. Jennings gains the yard, with Tonga clearing the path as a fullback.
1:07: Egbuka is good. The rookie reels in a 21-yard catch and Tampa has a 7-0 lead.
Another slow start for New England’s defense.
1:04: Egbuka reels in a 24-catch with Gonzalez in coverage.
1:00: Patriots win the coin toss and opt to defer.
Bucs offense is up first.
12:51: Stefon Diggs continues to establish himself as a leader on this New England team.
12:05: Warmups are underway in Tampa.
11:35: Inactives are out for both the Patriots and Bucs.
As expected, both Kayshon Boutte and Rhamondre Stevenson are out. Looking like a game where rookies in TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams could be primed for greater opportunities.
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No Godwin or Irving is also a loss for Tampa, who is already soldiering on without Mike Evans.
11:30: Greetings! It might be November, but there’s a lot on the line for the Patriots as they try to validate their standing as one of the top teams in the NFL this season by beating a tough Tampa club in their own building.
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