The Patriots’ 28-24 win over the Ravens sure as hell won’t be remembered for style points.
Yes, Drake Maye’s go ball to Kyle Williams for a desperate, fourth-quarter touchdown was a dime, but overall, the game was played on Baltimore’s terms. That meant it was uglier than a night out with Jimmy McNulty in ‘The Wire.’
And yet, even after sustaining a basketball roster’s worth of injuries during the game, and even after giving up 128 rushing yards to the freight train that is Derrick Henry, New England found a way to claw back from an 11-point deficit and win.
As noted on NBC’s broadcast, the team hasn’t dug themselves out of a fourth quarter hole that deep since the ol’ 28-3 Super Bowl.
Mike Vrabel’s team continues to prove themselves an intrusion of gnarly cockroaches, (yes, after searching what one calls a group of roaches, the options were, “intrusion,” “Swarm,” or, “crunch").
They just wouldn’t die against the Ravens, and if they have found the mettle to turn around their fourth quarter woes, other teams eying the playoffs should be wary.
Here’s the big caveat: starting quarterback Lamar Jackson went down just before the half, so the Patriots got Tyler “Snoop” Huntley, (hey, he was technically a 2023 Pro Bowler).
Honestly, whatever. The game came down to a couple of chess matches, primarily focused around disguising defensive looks and pressuring Maye, and wearing down the Patriots’ greatly-depleted run defense with Henry.
Maye was bad for stretches of the game. He sacrificed a good six points to Baltimore with two turnovers on drives likely to end in field goals. As he flailed under pressure, his teammates dropped like flies. The coaching staff made a few head-scratching decisions, (fake punt with Marte Mapu? Seriously?).
Then, he was fantastic. He had the aforementioned pass to the speedy rookie receiver, and he closed out the game with a 16-yard trot that had New England fans in the Baltimore stands back to chanting, “MVP.”
The Patriots punched their ticket to the playoffs and Maye proved himself as a quarterback much tougher than a frontrunner. He finished the night with 380 passing yards and 139 came in the fourth quarter, alone.
“He just kept getting up and battling. He didn’t flinch. I think it was important for all of us to have that game,” Vrabel said, after the win.
His constant throughout the game was Stefon Diggs, the 32-year-old veteran receiver who aptly described himself as a “beacon” and “vessel” postgame. After a Buffalo game in which he was blanketed in coverage, it wasn’t crazy to wonder how big of a weapon he’d be down the stretch of the season. He answered the bell with 138 receiving yards on nine catches, many of which happened in the gotta-have-it sort of moments that have become his calling card with Maye.
“People have no idea what he means to this team,” Maye said, postgame.
And as susceptible as the Milton Williams-less run defense looked for the Patriots, they managed to find playmakers. After Baltimore executed the opening drive like a hot knife through butter, Jaylinn Hawkins turned the calendar back to September for Henry, punching the ball out for a takeaway and generating momentum for his team. Late in the game, linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson tackled Raven Zay Flowers to force a fumble and crush any last-minute hopes of a Maryland Miracle for Baltimore.
Bringing guys out of the woodwork has been an underdiscussed aspect of this team’s success. Maye and Diggs will get the headlines, but when a guy needs to make a play, this is a team where it truly feels like it could be anyone.
They’ll get on a plane back to Providence sore, battered, and down a few guys. But they’re a playoff team and they know more than one way to win games.