FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Maye’s resolve: The past week has been different for the Patriots, coming off their first loss since Week 3. But starting center Garrett Bradbury took note that there was no difference with quarterback Drake Maye.
“From OTAs [in the spring] to 10 straight wins, that guy hasn’t changed,” Bradbury said. “That’s what you want to see when you’re the face of the franchise. He’s as impressive as can be. It’s fun to go to work with a guy like that.”
Maye’s response to adversity is among the top storylines as the Patriots visit the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Last week, with a chance to win the AFC East title if they beat the Bills, Maye and the offense had two possessions late in the fourth quarter but didn’t gain a first down on either of them in a 35-31 loss.
Maye, who is completing 70.9% of his passes to lead the NFL, was more off-target than the norm (finishing the game at 60.9%).
“It stings when you don’t come up on the winning side, but what I’ve tried to learn in this league is it’s on to the next week,” Maye said. “Just trying to play to my best ability and try to fix plays that I wish I had back and try to not let them happen again — trying to learn every week and store things in my memory bank to use them again down the road.”
Bradbury, 30, marveled at Maye’s approach, considering Maye is 23 and Bradbury himself was still playing at NC State at that age. He credited Maye with leading the Patriots in recent days by putting the Bills’ loss behind them and turning attention to a Ravens defense that coordinator Josh McDaniels described as physical and aggressive.
Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who is also 30, has noted Maye’s response to adversity going back to the spring.
“I think it’s been good. You don’t know how anyone is going to respond until you see it, and he is just consistent every day,” said Dobbs, whose locker is directly to the left of Maye’s. “It’s cool to see someone, especially a young player who has had success, have that mindset.”
Maye had started hot in last week’s loss to the Bills, which snapped a 10-game winning streak, before things took a turn in the second half as the Patriots had a 24-7 halftime lead slip away.
Now Sunday will mark the Patriots’ first road game in nearly a month. They are the NFL’s only undefeated road team (6-0), with Maye doing some of his best work away this season, leading the NFL in QBR (79.2), completion percentage (70.2%) and yards per attempt (9.2) on the road.
Coaches and players noted the bad taste they had from the way last week’s game ended, with McDaniels acknowledging how Maye attacked the week of preparation.
“Drake has done an amazing job learning from every opportunity … everything we didn’t do well in the game, I know he’s going to try to do everything he can to learn from it so that we don’t make the same mistake twice,” McDaniels said. “Couldn’t ask for more from the young man.”
2. Henderson OROY? If Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson rushes for another touchdown of 50 or more yards, he would join Hall of Famer Jim Brown (1963) and Chris Johnson (2009) for the most rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards in a season.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that after two of those TDs last week, Henderson is now the favorite to win the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Receivers Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers) and Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers) are second and third, respectively.
“Any time he touches the ball, it could end up in the end zone,” Patriots rookie left guard Jared Wilson said.
3. Diggs’ drought: Wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who has a homecoming of sorts Sunday night in Baltimore because he starred at the University of Maryland, has had fewer than 30 receiving yards in each of the last three games. That’s the longest streak of his 11-year career.
Coaches have been consistent in saying that the Patriots’ offense is designed to throw to the open receiver, and some of Diggs’ lower production might be due to increased defensive attention.
“They doubled Stef a number of times,” McDaniels said of the Bills’ defensive approach last week. “There’s been teams that have not done anything like that, and some are starting to sprinkle things in there.”
4. T-Strong: Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, who has been focusing on his prostate cancer diagnosis, was back in the facility last week, and cornerback Carlton Davis III said it was good for team morale.
“No. 1, so we know he is healthy,” Davis said, before adding: “And he is here to make adjustments and help us any way he can.”
Players and coaches have worn “T-Strong” shirts throughout the season to show their support.
5. Turnovers needed: The Patriots’ 14 takeaways are tied for 21st in the NFL — a result of an inconsistent pass rush, among other things — and that has contributed to some of the unit’s struggles in recent weeks.
“It’s hard to play defense in this league without turnovers,” Vrabel said.
New England has just three takeaways over the last six games, but it might have an opportunity to see the number spike against the Ravens, who have totaled 10 turnovers from Weeks 11-15 — the second most in the NFL over that span. Baltimore is 1-7 when losing the turnover battle, and 5-0 when winning it.
0:44
Jones, Davis traveling to Baltimore while Spillane is out
Marucs Jones and Carlton Davis are available while Robert Spillane is out for the Patriots.
6. Maye at goal line: Using Maye as a runner in the red zone helped produce better results for the Patriots last week, but there was one area Vrabel would like to see cleaned up. In his must-watch weekly “X’s & O’s” film breakdown segment on the “Patriots All-Access” television show, Vrabel highlighted the end of Maye’s 7-yard touchdown run up the middle and how Maye reached the ball above his head before crossing the goal-line. Too risky.
“A great play,” Vrabel said, “but understand we can’t keep doing this short of the goal line … not relaxing until we see the paint in the end zone.”
7. Muma’s surprise: Linebacker Chad Muma said he and his wife, Alyssa, were deciding on plans for the day around 2 p.m. on Monday when everything changed in an instant. Agent Ryan Tollner called and informed him the Patriots wanted to sign him off the Colts’ practice squad, with the likelihood he’d be an immediate special teams contributor Sunday in Baltimore.
Muma, a 2022 third-round pick of the Jaguars out of Wyoming, recognized a few familiar faces upon arrival in New England’s locker room as defensive end/outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson and running back D’Ernest Johnson were teammates of his in Jacksonville.
Now Muma hopes to make New England a longer-term home — his contract is through the 2026 season — and said he is thankful for Alyssa for staying behind last week to pack up their residence before making the move to join him before Christmas.
8. Rivers’ return: Colts quarterback Philip Rivers‘ return to the NFL since his retirement following the 2020 season was a topic of conversation among Patriots quarterbacks, especially since he’s 44.
“That’s a lot of time to be removed from the game to hop back into it,” No. 3 quarterback Tommy DeVito said. “I get that he knows the offense, but that almost feels like a ‘danger zone’ depending on how much you’ve been working out or training. I’m sure he was training, but then there’s football training. Kudos for him giving it a shot.”
If Rivers and the Colts lose to the visiting 49ers on Monday night, the Patriots would clinch a playoff berth regardless of what happens in Sunday’s Patriots-Ravens or Texans-Raiders games.
9. Harris on mend: Veteran linebacker Darius Harris, a core special teams player who won three Super Bowl championships with the Chiefs and is currently on the Patriots’ practice-squad injured reserve list, is close to a return to full health.
Harris was already elevated from the Patriots’ practice squad for the maximum three games this season, but if New England’s special teams struggles from last week continue in Baltimore, the possibility of signing Harris to the 53-man roster to help could soon be an option to consider.
10. Did you know? The Patriots’ 11 wins this season ties Vrabel with Raymond Berry (11-5 in 1985) for the most by a New England head coach in his first full season with the franchise.
