Things stayed within shouting distance at the Caesars Superdome.
But the New England Patriots shouted louder there on Sunday, defeating the New Orleans Saints by a score of 25-19.
Here’s a glance back on
the 1 p.m. ET kickoff as head coach Mike Vrabel’s side returns home at 4-2.
Maye keeps finding a way downfield
A week removed from visiting the NFL’s last unbeaten, it was on to visit a team fresh off its first win. There would be no letdown in Louisiana. Drake Maye found a way. And early. The Patriots quarterback went 18-of-26 passing for 261 yards against the Saints. He did so while throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Beginning in “12” personnel, the opening drive spanned just four plays. A bootleg capped it off. With downfield eyes, Maye hit an open DeMario Douglas for a 53-yard touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. On the next series, the 23-year-old found the slot receiver again for a meandering 61-yard touchdown that was called back. But another scoring strike was the response to end the first quarter. No passes had hit the turf by then. Not until a scramble-turned-throwaway with 6:39 to go before halftime gave way to an errant snap and a turnover on downs.
It’d be a 22-16 game at intermission as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ group had averaged 14.2 yards per pass play. No. 10 under center stood with three touchdowns and a sneak for a two-point conversion by intermission.
Maye did not let off, converting on third-and-2 with his legs, fourth-and-4 with his arm, and rushing for a team-long 20 yards soon after. A third-and-11 saw the captain maneuver a collapsing pocket to find veteran target Mack Hollins. And while the second half featured one field goal and three punts, it featured enough. Another third-and-11 wound up downed in bounds by an LSU product. No timeouts were left at the disposal for Saints head coach Kellen Moore.
2023 draft picks catch three touchdowns
The Patriots had all six wide receivers active for the first time on Sunday. Selections from the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft were more than among them.
Kayshon Boutte moved the chains on third-and-9 on the initial possession. The Louisiana native hung on to a one-on-one contested catch for a 25-yard touchdown next time out. He then spun around to cross the plane for a 28-yard touchdown on the final drive of the first half. There was more to come in gotta-have-it moments.
Boutte finished the afternoon with a team-high five receptions on as many looks for 93 yards. His aforementioned draft classmate, Douglas, also found the end zone once and should have twice. A TD by the Liberty alum was called back for a phantom offensive pass interference.
After eclipsing the century mark in back-to-back weeks, Stefon Diggs caught three passes for 28 yards. The elder statesman on the depth chart drew his initial target heading into the break, yet converted on fourth-and-4 heading out of it. A diving 52-yard grab in the fourth quarter was called back by another penalty for offensive pass interference.
Pass protection outlasts errant snap
The starting five stayed intact on the road.
No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell and No. 95 overall pick Jared Wilson continued to grow together on the left side of the offensive line. And next to the SEC rookies out of LSU and Georgia, there stood the experience in center Garrett Bradbury, right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Morgan Moses.
One sack for a loss of one was in the cards on Sunday. Yet an airmailed shotgun snap from center was, too, on fourth-and-7 from the New Orleans 39. By the time New England’s quarterback retrieved the rolling ball, 14 yards had been lost on what became a touchdown trip for the hosts. But at game’s end, a false start at right tackle stood as the lone penalty for the visiting line.
Ground game bottled in the backfield
Antonio Gibson officially went on injured reserve entering the weekend. And in the absence of the veteran running back, who sustained a torn ACL in what became a 23-30 win over the Buffalo Bills, Terrell Jennings served as a standard elevation from the practice squad.
But the backfield reins were in the hands of a starter and a rookie on Sunday. To little effect.
With ball security at the forefront after his third lost fumble of the season, Rhamondre Stevenson turned 13 carries into 18 yards. He was halted for no gain on a third-and-7 run from pistol formation. It marked the lone non-conversion on third down for the offense by halftime. A loss of three arrived at the goal line after the break, and five of his rushes in all became either no gain or a loss.
TreVeyon Henderson continued to work as a change of pace. The No. 38 overall pick out of Ohio State finished the afternoon having accounted for 36 yards from scrimmage across 10 touches.
Sacked twice, Rattler goes 20-of-26
Spencer Rattler took what was given in his first career start against the Patriots. And sometimes more. The Saints quarterback went 20-of-26 passing and had a stretch of 11 completions in a row. He found 227 yards through the air.
For the former transfer from Oklahoma to South Carolina, Sunday got underway with a 53-yard shot off a cornerback blitz on the first snap of the game. It proceeded to bring no touchdowns nor interceptions, yet an 11-play, 60-yard drive reached its end as all-purpose tight end Taysom Hill plunged in on third-and-goal from shotgun.
No punt was forced by the Patriots until 4:23 remained in the third quarter. A fumble by linebacker Christian Elliss would be forced at the 8:50 mark in the fourth quarter, however, after a successful challenge. The starting front featured Milton Williams and Christian Barmore on the interior while K’Lavon Chaisson was back off the edges. And so was captain Harold Landry III, who had an injury scare before getting himself to 4.5 sacks on the fall. With elbow and ankle injuries keeping Keion White and Anfernee Jennings out, outside linebacker Truman Jones was called upon from the practice squad.
Down Hawkins, secondary bends but doesn’t break
After being listed as questionable, Christian Gonzalez outlasted the inactives list 90 minutes prior to kickoff. The reigning All-Pro looked like himself from then on. Even so, concerns arose for New England’s starting cornerback trio on Sunday.
Carlton Davis III headed to the blue medical tent in the third quarter. Soon after, Marcus Jones was attended to after going above the rim on third-and-17 to nearly break up his fourth pass of the game. Both made their way back into a tested secondary. The captain at nickelback stormed in on third-and-6 for a sack that sent the field-goal unit on in the fourth quarter. A 25-19 score was the outcome. It held.
With starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins ruled out on the final injury report, Craig Woodson moved forward on the backend and recovered his first career fumble. The rookie from Cal was joined by veteran Kyle Dugger, who was left in coverage on Saints wide receiver Chris Olave’s 53-yard catch. A field goal in the red zone came of it. But the matinee developed into a bit of a barnburner for a bending Patriots defense.
Chism makes NFL debut on kickoffs
A past AFC Special Teams Player of the Week was averaging a career-best 28.5 yards per kickoff return this fall for the Patriots. With that role forced into new hands on Sunday, it would be an undrafted rookie standing back deep for coordinator Jeremy Springer.
Efton Chism III made his NFL debut after spending five weeks on the 53-man roster as a healthy scratch. The Eastern Washington standout notched a tackle in kickoff coverage and handled five returns for 129 yards, including a long of 28.
Elsewhere in the kicking game, Andy Borregales made good on his lone field goal and a pair of extra points versus the Saints. After delivering a 52-yard winner last week, the rookie kicker split the uprights from 24. The road trip proved less eventful for holder Bryce Baringer, whose three punts transpired after halftime.
