The New England Patriots won a game that they looked to have in control for most of the first half by a single point. Ultimately, however, the Patriots did hold on to win their Week 9 game against the Atlanta
Falcons to improve to 7-2 on the year.
Let’s get into our lessons learned during the 24-23 victory at Gillette Stadium.
Sometimes, you have to win the ugly games
The Patriots haven’t won many games the last few years, so this might seem obvious, but it’s been a long time since they won a game quite like this. They were dominant in the first half, and then could do almost nothing at all in the second.
Drake Maye looked flustered most of the second half, threw an interception, ran into sacks, missed some open receivers, and had multiple miscommunications. Not only did the offense struggle, but the defense was getting torched at times by the Falcons, with Drake London putting on a show and finishing with three touchdowns.
But, the Patriots were able to overcome their miscues on Sunday. They might not have been on their A-game, especially in the second half, but good teams win games like this, and Mike Vrabel’s did just that on Sunday.
“They’re talented. They’re a good team, and that’s what happens when you do, and you keep teams around when you keep them in the game. Give them credit, but also give our guys credit for battling back when we had to,” Vrabel said after the game.
“We’ve won some close games, and I think that we did kind of learn a little bit about ourselves. You can make mistakes, and you have to be able to come back and finish the game.”
More lessons learned from Patriots vs. Browns
Patriots picked the right kicker: The Patriots had a camp battle at the kicker position between Parker Romo and Andy Borregales. The battle was as close as could be, and there were some who argued that Romo should win the job. The Patriots ultimately chose differently and picked the rookie Borregales. The seventh-round pick started the season off a little rough, missing a field goal in his first game, and two extra points in his second, but he hasn’t missed a kick since. Romo, who landed with the Falcons, but missed what would have been a game-tying extra point late in the fourth quarter on Sunday. With the Patriots on the ropes, the Falcons would have had a chance to win the game had Romo hit that kick, but he didn’t, and his ex-club would hold on to win. The way Sunday’s game ended is more evidence the Patriots made the right choice.
Progression is not linear: Drake Maye has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season, and he looked to be continuing that in the first half on Sunday. Then, at the very end of the half, he got pressure straight up in the middle, and, instead of simply taking the sack, tried to make a play and break the tackle, and ended up fumbling the ball, which set up an easy touchdown for the Falcons. Maye and company could have put the game away, but, the Falcons stole the momentum right at the end of the half and kept the upper hand for most of the rest of the game. After a 15-play, 41-yard drive that ended in a field goal to start the second half, the Patriots had drives of 0 yards, 31 yards, 4 yards, and then an 18-yard drive to end the game. Maye had 44 yards passing on a 2-for-7 performance with an interception after that first drive of the third period. That was one of the worst stretches of his season, and one he needs to bounce back from.
Running back depth looks better: Rhamondre Stevenson missed the game on Sunday with a toe injury, so his duties fell to rookie TreVeyon Henderson and recent practice squad promotion Terrell Jennings. They played well outside of a few bad pass blocking reps for Henderson. No one had any big, explosive, plays, but they took what was in front of them and fought for extra yards when necessary. Jennings had a goal line touchdown, and also picked up a big third down with Khyiris Tonga lead-blocking for him, something I hope to see more of moving forward. The Falcons typically struggle to stop the run, and the Patriots only had 110 rushing yards on the day, but it didn’t look as bad as it could have been without Stevenson. Also, Jennings scored a touchdown and then made the tackle on the ensuing kick, which is just fantastic. That’s what is going to keep him on this team.
Run defense keeps meeting the challenge: It looked like the Patriots’ streak of holding opposing running backs to under 50 yards was going to break against Bijan Robinson, but they were able to bottle him up on the ground: he finished the game with 12 carries for 46 yards. He did have some running room late in the game and ripped off a 15-yarder in the fourth quarter, but the Patriots did a great job stuffing the run once again. This is nine games in a row holding the lead back under 50 yards, and, just looking at the backs they have done it against, it sure doesn’t look like a fluke. The Patriots have one of the best run defenses in the NFL.
Injury worries arise: The NFL season is all about attrition, and who can survive the longest without any serious injuries. The Patriots have done a pretty good job of staying healthy this year, but they went into the game without Rhamondre Stevenson, and then had to finish without two of their best players in Kayshon Boutte and Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez is the best player in the Patriots secondary, and Boutte has been one of the best players on the offense for them; you could tell that the offense was struggling without having him in there down the line. Gonzalez said after the game that he will be good to go, while being without Boutte for any period of time could be an issue for the offense.
Mental mistakes keep showing up: The thing I was worried about heading into this game was mistakes and turnovers. The Patriots lost the turnover battle 2-0, and they made quite a few mental mistakes as well. There were miscommunications between Maye and Hunter Henry and Kyle Williams, which led to incompletions and an interception; Maye’s fumble at the end of the first half came off a missed stunt by Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses, and that wasn’t the only one they missed. Also, on the coaching mistakes, singling Marcus Jones up on Drake London twice on the goal line is not what you want to see. The Patriots need to clean up those miscues if they are going to make a serious push in the playoffs. Luckily, as Vrabel said, they can continue to learn from wins instead of losses.
DeMario Douglas continues to be a factor: Douglas said after the game that his uncle was tragically killed on Saturday night, and yet he had his first ever 100-yard game in the NFL and also scored a touchdown. Mike Vrabel was very effusive in his praise for Douglas after the game, and it’s great to see how he has worked through his early season issues and personal tragedy to become a key for the victory on Sunday as well as a reliable player overall in the Patriots’ offense. With Kayshon Boutte’s status up in the air, they mind need him to step up even more than he already has.
Drake London and Bijan Robinson are really good: The Patriots may not face any players who are individually as good as Drake London and Bijan Robinson the rest of the season. Robinson may not have had the yards, but he made a few plays that were just ridiculous, including a catch where he knocked it down with his left hand and secured it with his right hand while Marcus Jones was draped all over him. London had a monster game, including three touchdown catches that were all contested but he still came away with the ball. On the drive that almost tied the game, the two of them made ridiculous play after ridiculous play, and sometimes you just have to tip your cap to great players. Luckily, the Patriots came away with the win, but those two are going to be a problem in the league for a long time.
Another tough NFC South test awaits: The Patriots have a big test coming against one of the better teams in the NFL on Sunday when they travel to Tampa to play the 6-2 Buccaneers. Coming off the bye, and maybe getting one of their best offensive players, Bucky Irving, back it is going to be one of the toughest games of the season for New England. If they play the way they did on Sunday, they are going to be in trouble, but we have also all seen that they are capable of doing much better than that. They re going to need to do so if they want to have a chance to keep their win streak alive.
