Another week, another New England Patriots victory. For a third straight game, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel has come away victoriously. This time, they managed to beat the New Orleans Saints 25-19
on the road.
Here is a Patriots-centric view at some of the key moments of the game.
Moment No. 1: Big play Pop
DeMario Douglas has had a quiet start to the season, catching just seven passes for 30 yards and a touchdown to open his third year as a Patriot. However, against the Saints he made his presence felt right away: on New England’s first possession, he hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye, and thanks to a nifty move at the end was able to find his way into the end zone.
Moment No. 2: Questionable call
DeMario Douglas came close to hauling in another huge score in the first quarter, but a 61-yard touchdown was called bag on a pass interference call against fellow wide receiver Stefon Diggs. While there is contact between Diggs and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, a flag — especially one thrown after the play had already been completed — seems like a drastic call.
Typically, we would not include this in a highlight collection. However, officiating was iffy throughout the day and this play set an early tone.
Moment(s) No. 3: Perfect homecoming
Kayshon Boutte’s return to his home state was a full success. Not only did the Patriots win, he also caught five passes for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Boutte’s first TD came later on the drive that saw DeMario Douglas’ 61-yard touchdown get taken off the board by a questionable penalty. There were no doubts about that 25-yard catch, though: Drake Maye evaded pressure and lofted a perfectly-placed ball to the third-year wideout, who managed to hang on despite being challenged at the catch point.
Later in the first half, Boutte found himself in the end zone again, this time from 29 yards out. Maye delivered another deep shot, the third-year wideout hauled it in at the 3-yard line, and his momentum carried him over the goal line. There was some confusion about whether his knee was down before he crossed, but the TD stood and allowed New England to retake the lead in the late second period.
Moment No. 4: Punching it out
Both the Patriots and the Saints managed to take care of the football, until midway through the fourth quarter. At that point, and with the home team starting to find some rhythm on offense, linebacker Christian Elliss delivered a blow to New Orleans’ hopes at a comeback: he punched the ball out of tight end Juwan Johnson’s arms, with rookie safety Craig Woodson falling onto the fumble for a New England recovery.
The play again saw the officiating crew get involved: Johnson was originally ruled down by contact, but replay showed that the ball had come out before. Mike Vrabel challenged, and his team got the ball back as a result.
Moment No. 5: Closing it out
There was another successful Patriots challenge at the tail-end of this play to establish whether or not Kayshon Boutte had stepped out of bounds; he hadn’t, thus allowing the clock to run to the two-minute warning and effectively end the game. As for the play itself, it showed both quarterback and receiver delivering in crunch time and a high-pressure situation.
Drake Maye played his back-shoulder pass well for Boutte, and the wideout did the rest for a gain of 21 on 3rd-and-11.