The New England Patriots stayed in the win column on Sunday, celebrating a sixth straight W to improve to 7-2 on the year.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing the 24-23 victory.
Winners
WR DeMario Douglas: It was an emotional day for Pop Douglas after losing his uncle on Saturday. Playing in his honor, Douglas led New England with four catches for 100 yards and a score — the yardage marking a career-high. His touchdown came with Josh McDaniels taking advantage of a Falcons defensive tendency, where starting Douglas in the backfield resulted in one-on-one coverage against an edge rusher — an easy matchup for the receiver.
Douglas then had a long 58-yard catch-and-run where he made multiple defenders miss as he continues to take advantage of his opportunities.
“We’ve got to keep finding Pop,” Mike Vrabel said after the game. “We have to continue to find him on some of these runaways or some of these slot plays that are really good for him. I love having him on the team. He’s fun to coach. He sits right up front, and he’s always into it. Great teammate. Always happy for his success.”
RBs TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings: Filling in for the injured Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), New England’s top two backs ran well in between the tackles en route to piling up 90 total yards on the ground. Henderson took over the lead role (51 snaps; 75 percent) and added four catches for 32 yards to go with 55 yards on the ground. Jennings, meanwhile, found the end zone for the first time in his career and finished with a 100 percent success rate in late-down situations.
Run defense: Entering the week not allowing a single 50-yard performance to a running back this season, the Patriots front faced their toughest task yet against Bijan Robinson, who Vrabel compared to Marshall Faulk earlier in the week. The unit continued to hold their ground limiting Robinson to just 46 yards on the ground in 12 attempts with one explosive run.
Losers
RG Mike Onwenu and pass pro: Facing a defense that led the league in blitz-rate (48.1 percent), New England’s offensive line was set to be challenged on Sunday. The Falcons then dialed up the pressure even more blitzing Maye on 25 of his drop backs (62.5 percent) which helped led to six sacks (some again on the Pats QB).
Right guard Mike Onwenu had his struggles missing on a pair of twists up front, with one leading to a strip sack at the end of the second quarter. Onwenu then also lost to Ruke Orhorhoro to derail a red zone possession, while fellow guard Jared Wilson also gave up a sack and three pressures upon initial charting.
Pass rush: New England’s pass rush on the other hand failed to consistently get after Michael Penix Jr. throughout the day, as the lefty had ample time in the pocket in order to help push the ball downfield. Outside of a disruptive game from Milton Williams and an early sack by K’Lavon Chaisson, the Patriots could not get to Penix the rest of the afternoon. With the trade deadline on Tuesday, pass rush help continues to be a position to watch.
Honorable mentions
- As for Drake Maye, his 259 passing yards were the most Atlanta’s allowed this season and he completed multiple tight-window and explosive throws. But, the quarterback lost a fumble due to poor ball security and threw an interception on a miscommunication with Hunter Henry which led to Maye looking out-of-sync for much of the second half.
- Beyond the miscommunication on the INT, it was a productive game for Henry with four catches for 51 yards — that included multiple third-down conversions and the game-sealing 17-yard gain on a double slant-flat combo.
- With Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) leaving the game early, Kyle Williams was thrusted into the biggest workload of his young career (31 snaps). The rookie finished with zero catches on one target, however, as he and Maye continue to not look on the same page.
- Khyiris Tonga saw his first fullback snaps of the season and led the way on an early third-and-one conversion.
- The aforementioned Milton Williams finished with five pressures in live action.
- Christian Gonzalez had his battles with Drake London in this one. While London’s talent won on the 40-yard catch, Gonzo held London to just two catches for 27 yards in their other 15 matchups. That included a pair of pass breakups.
- London did most of his work against Marcus Jones, a tough matchup for the undersized slot corner. As Jones admitted, the Falcons had a strong play call on the first score to take advantage of New England’s switch release in the secondary out of the stack. But, London’s performance led to the Pats allowing Atlanta to go 3-of-4 in the red zone — not good enough.
- Andy Borregales stayed hot by making his lone field goal attempt and all three extra points. His summer competition, Parker Romo, meanwhile, missed the extra point to decide the game.
- New England opted to deploy Efton Chism III and practice squad elevation D’Ernest Johnson as kick returners. Chism made a smart decision to take a touchback on the first attempt before handling three returns — getting past the 30-yard line twice, although the second was called back for a hold.
