The New England Patriots faced one of their toughest tests of the season on Sunday, taking on a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team fighting for the top playoff seed in the NFC. Nonetheless, they were able to pass
that particular test and ended up winning a competitive game with a final score of 28-23.
Despite their victory, the Patriots did not play a perfect game of football in any phase of the game. Our look at the game’s winners and losers shows this, as do our weekly position grades from the contest.
Patriots position grades from NFL Week 10
Quarterback: Going up against a pass defense that had ranked sixth in the NFL in EPA per dropback entering Week 10 (-0.012), Maye had a solid overall performance and made several clutch throws including his 1-yard touchdown to Stefon Diggs on 4th-and-goal to close out the first half. However, for a second straight week he also showed some ups and downs. His ball placement was not always up to par especially early on in the contest, and he threw an ugly red zone interception in the fourth quarter that could have become a turning point in the game. Ultimately, though, he made enough plays against a good opponent to put the Patriots on a path to success yet again. | Grade: B
Running back: Sunday’s game was a mixed bag for the running back group, despite TreVeyon Henderson scoring two long touchdowns. Obviously, those 55- and 69-yard scampers were among the most impressive plays New England’s ground game has had this season. The second of those scores, which helped ice the game, was aided by a pivotal block from defensive tackle/fullback hybrid Khyiris Tonga. Other that the home runs, however, the ground game — which was without starter Rhamondre Stevenson for a second straight week — was largely ineffective. Henderson averaged only 1.9 yards on his other 12 carries, while Terrell Jennings and D’Ernest Johnson were largely non-factors against one of the better run defenses in the NFL | Grade: B+
Wide receiver: Even with Kayshon Boutte sidelined because of a hamstring injury suffered the previous week, the Patriots’ wide receiver group brought the goods to Tampa. Kyle Williams’s 72-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter provided a much-needed spark for the team’s offense, while Stefon Diggs’ aforementioned grab on 4th-and-goal gave the team the lead entering the half. Mack Hollins, meanwhile, had his best game as a Patriot: he finished with six catches for 106 yards — his second career 100-yard game and first since the 2022 season — and also had a key block on TreVeyon Henderson’s first touchdown. DeMario Douglas also added a pair of catches for 34 yards, among them a big third down conversion on the second-quarter drive that ended with Diggs’ touchdown. | Grade: A
Tight end: New England’s tight end group had a relatively quiet day against the Buccaneers, at least as far as the receiving game is concerned: Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper combined to catch only one of five targets for 9 yards. Their impact was more pronounced in the running game, however. Henry helped create a seam on TreVeyon Henderson’s first touchdown run of the afternoon, with Hooper helping clear the edge on the second. Their run blocking as a whole was not always that on point, but it played a crucial part in two of the game’s biggest moments. | Grade: C+
Offensive line: The Patriots’ run game struggles mostly started up front, with the offensive line failing to generate a consistent push against a talented Buccaneers front led by stalwart nose tackle Vita Vea. The left side of the line — guard Jared Wilson and center Garrett Bradbury — was particularly vulnerable to being caved in, leading to a combined six stuffed runs on the day. In addition, Drake Maye was under pressure on 44.4% of his dropbacks on the day and the group was flagged for two false starts on the same second-quarter drive. That all being said, the performance was more than rescued by some excellent blocking on the two touchdown runs as well as Maye only getting sacked once all day. | Grade: C
Defensive line: As opposed to his New England counterpart, Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield only saw pressure on 31.1% of his own dropbacks. Even though he was sacked twice on the day and was disrupted by K’Lavon Chaisson on a key 4th-and-3 in the fourth quarter, he had more consistent time and space to operate from within the pocket overall. Additionally, one of the top-ranked run defenses in football also had its fair share of issues — in part because Tampa Bay was able to generate some noticeable gaps for its running backs to exploit. As a result, the team was able to average 5.4 yards per carry and was the first to produce a 50-yard running back against the Patriots this season. | Grade: C–
Linebacker: The Patriots’ problems against the run started up front, and at times put the linebackers in challenging positions. That being said, the group led by starter Robert Spillane performed reasonably well in light of this and its No. 2, Christian Elliss, being out with a hip injury. That said, Baker Mayfield was able to complete his fair share of throws over the middle against zone coverage; tight end Cade Otton finished with nine catches, six of them over the middle. That was more of a systematic issue than a player-related one, though. | Grade: B–
Cornerback: Emeka Egbuka is a star in the making and created his fair share of damage against the Patriots, particularly when they went into zone or off-man coverage. Facing press-man, however, he was mostly held in check by Christian Gonzalez: the All-Pro surrendered only two receptions for 35 yards when matched up with the Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner. That said, Egbuka was able to beat Marcus Jones for a 21-yard touchdown on an apparent coverage bust by the defender, while Carlton Davis was beaten for a touchdown by Tez Johnson on a scramble drill. | Grade: C+
Safety: The Patriots mostly held Tampa’s deep passing game in check, with the only real exception being a 31-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to Emeka Egbuka, a play that saw Jaylinn Hawkins come down just a tad too late leading to a missed tackle. Overall, however, he and fellow safety Craig Woodson played a good game both versus the pass and when coming down in run support. | Grade: B+
Special teams: Andy Borregales made all four of his extra points on the day, while Bryce Baringer also looked good punting the football. The return game, however, was a different story. Marcus Jones finished with only 3 yards on three runbacks and also had a muffed punt, while Efton Chism was OK but unspectacular in his two kickoff returns. The unit also was penalized on two occasions, which means that the Patriots are now up to 22 special teams penalties on the season. | Grade: C
Linebacker and team captain Robert Spillane best summed up the performance of his unit and the Patriots as a whole during his postgame presser after the game.
“We’re a hungry team. We’re a young team. We’re a team with a lot of chips on their shoulders. We still feel like we have so much left to prove,” he said. “We have yet to play our best football game as a team — as a defense — and every week that’s why we prepare. We go out there every week trying to play our best game, trying to put the best four quarters of team defense together, and we’re yet to get there. That taste in our mouths keeps us coming back for more.”
How would you grade the Patriots’ performance in Week 10? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.
