TAMPA, Fla. – The time span of New England’s scoring drives and their distances were dominant when the Patriots gained their seventh consecutive win, 28-23, over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has become a frontrunner for the NFL’s MVP Award as he continues to find ways to craft wins through his athleticism, immediacy in reading defenses, and an uncanny leadership that many starting second-year quarterbacks can’t match.
New England tied the game at 7-7 on the last play of the first quarter when Maye found wide receiver Kyle Williams on a 72-yard touchdown pass, which capped a one-play drive that lasted just seven seconds.
The Pats took a 14-10 lead when they scored on the second play of the second half as Trayveon Henderson ran 55 yards for the score. This drive only took two plays and 48 seconds.
New England nursed a 21-16 advantage inside of two minutes remaining when Henderson went 70 yards on two plays and in 16 seconds, which closed the door on an impressive road win.
New England scored three touchdowns on five plays, which equated to 207 yards, and those three drives lasted one minute, 15 seconds.
“Their players made plays; our players did not,” said Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles. “We’ve got to coach it better; we’ve got to play it better, and that starts with me.”
The Patriots’ scoring drives generally occurred with such speed that using a starter’s pistol to begin each of those could have even been a possibility.
Of course, those occurred around a 14-play, 78-yard scoring drive that saw Maye hit wide receiver Stefon Diggs with an 8-yard touchdown pass to end the first half which gave the Pats a 14-10 lead, and they never trailed again.
“The play that got them down there was the big play, not exactly the touchdown play,” explained Bowles. “They had four downs. The guy made a tough play in tough coverage. He’s a good receiver, and he made a good play. (The play to start the) Second half – we weren’t in our gap.”
The “big” play that Bowles alluded to was a 26-yard pass to Demario Douglas when New England faced a 3rd-and-7 on the Buccaneers’ 40-yard line.
“As a defense, we pride ourselves on things like that, explosive plays,” commented Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David. “We don’t give that up–pass game, run game, whatever the case may be, and we let some get out today, which is, you know, very uncharacteristic of us.”
Maye has completed 71.7 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards in the first 10 games, as he has 19 TD passes against only five interceptions this season.
“We’re handling adversity, battling adversity,” Maye explained. “The defense is stepping up. What a complete game. That’s what we said all week – show up for 60 minutes. This is a good football team. We knew if we got up, they’re going to come back, and they came marching back.”
Comeback Fell Short: Once New England took the 21-10 lead early in the second half, Tampa Bay saw that a comeback was in the offing.
Mayfield found WR Tez Johnson with a 10-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone on the right side with 4:10 remaining.
With 5:17 remaining in the fourth quarter and trailing, 21-16, Mayfield hit tight end Cade Otton for 16 yards and then found Sean Tucker on an 18-yard pass play that set the Buccaneers up on the New England 34-yard line.
After a seven-yard pass to Otton, the Bucs were left with 4th-and-3 on the Patriots’ 27. Mayfield faced a heavy pass rush that turned a pass to White into a three-yard loss.
“Just a five-man pressure; they rushed the back, Rachaad knows how that looks,” explained Mayfield. “He is going to get out on his route still, and the safety comes down to play him in man coverage and just a miscommunication there. We have to get that fixed, and like I said, it starts with me.”
Regal Rookie Receivers: Emeka Egbuka caught 13 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He caught his sixth touchdown of the season on the game’s first drive as he caught a 21-yard pass from Mayfield to give Tampa Bay a 7-0 lead.
“It varies from game to game,” Egbuka said of each opponent’s coverage. “Seeing some of the best corners like I saw today in (Christian) Gonzalez following me around, Double coverage versus Detroit, a lot. A lot of shell and other stuff versus the Saints – depends on their game plan.”
Mayfield later found Tez Johnson on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds remaining for their second touchdown connection of the afternoon.
Johnson’s third and fourth touchdowns left him behind only wide receiver Egbuka for the team lead.
“I always tell ‘Mek’ (Emeka Egbuka) he’s the best rookie in the country right now, and I think Tampa Bay drafted two good ones, really good ones,” Tez Johnson said. “So, like I said, he’s the best in the country at this position right now at receiver as a rookie. I think he deserves the rookie award 100 percent.”