The New England Patriots celebrated a massive victory against one of the best teams in the league on Sunday night in Buffalo, beating the Bills 23-20. The team of head coach Mike Vrabel made a statement that they can play with anyone as long as they have Drake Maye and are able to keep mistakes at a minimum.
And with that said, let’s get into our lessons learned on Sunday night.
Drake Maye has his coming-out party on national TV
Drake Maye has been playing extremely well to start his second NFL season, but he hadn’t really exploded onto the scene until Sunday night. However, against the Bills the nation got to see him duel it out against Josh Allen and he made some absolutely silly plays.
The 32-yard throw to Stefon Diggs down the sideline is one of the best plays you’ll ever see, both from the QB and receiver. The first play on the final drive was ridiculous as well, with him fighting off a defensive lineman long enough to get the ball out to Diggs, who broke a tackle and picked up a first down. Then, the hole shot to Kayshon Boutte on the final drive put the icing on the cake; Maye stood in the pocket, took a hit, and made a perfect pass to Boutte for 19 yards, which put them in field goal range.
Sunday night was his coming-out party. If there were any fans out there that didn’t know Maye was a stud in the making, they now do, and the league has been put on notice that the Patriots, even if they don’t have the talent this year, will be back very soon with Maye running the offense.
The defense looks energized
The Patriots defense has been up and down this year, but this was the most energized that they have looked in 2025. They were flying to the ball, and always seemed to have more than one guy in on every tackle. It’s not easy to bottle up an offense as good as the Bills’, and the Patriots should feel very good about the way their defense played Sunday night.
Milton Williams continues to be a force inside, and the linebackers — including Jahlani Tavai, who made his season debut on Sunday night — all played pretty well, too. The secondary also made plays, with Jaylinn Hawkins scooping up a fumble forced by Robert Spillane and both Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones registering key plays to help secure the win.
If the Patriots defense plays the way they did on Sunday night against what was both the top ranked pass and the top ranked run offense in terms of EPA per play, they can compete with any team in the NFL.
Marcus Jones just keeps making plays
First-year captain Marcus Jones continues to be a tone setter for the team, and one of the Patriots’ best playmakers. It wasn’t a big punt return this time around, but a red zone interception of reigning league MVP Josh Allen. The fourth-year cornerback undercut a route, and jumped in front of wide receiver Khalil Shakir for the pick.
His one punt return of the night went for 0 yards, but he caught the ball on the sideline and somehow spun towards the sideline. Jones just keeps making plays, and the Patriots are lucky to have him — a sentiment that might soon lead to a new contract for the impending free agent.
Christian Gonzalez makes the entire defense better
The Patriots were without their No. 1 cornerback for the first three games of the season, and the defense just wasn’t the same without him on the field. Against the Bills, however, they showed what they are capable of — in large part because of the second-team All-Pro playing on his usual high level, including one of the game’s biggest defensive plays.
In the fourth quarter, with the Bills driving for a potential go-ahead touchdown, Gonzalez registered a huge pass breakup to force a game-tying field goal with just over two minutes remaining. Once again, he showed that he is an elite player at the cornerback position, and the Patriots defense has a real chance to be very good as long as he remains available as their CB1.
Stefon Diggs has a magical return to Buffalo
Off the field, Stefon Diggs made it known that he wasn’t happy about the way that things ended for him in Buffalo. On the field on Sunday, he played like a man possessed.
He was the best receiver on the field on either side, and dominated the game like a true No. 1 wideout. His 146-yard output on 10 receptions means that he has now become the first Patriots receiver to register back-to-back 100-yard games since Julian Edelman in 2019.
If he can keep this level throughout the year, the Patriots offense has found its go-to receiver.
Andy Borregales has the clutch gene
One of the biggest moments of the Patriots’ season so far might have been Mike Vrabel trusting Andy Borregales to kick a 53-yard field goal against the Dolphins in Week 2 after he had missed a pair of extra points earlier in the game, and then giving him a game ball in the locker room. Showing the kid that the Patriots supported him through his struggles seemed to be just what he needed.
He hasn’t missed a kick since that win in Miami, with his 52-yard field goal against Buffalo — a kick that might have been good from 60-plus out — his biggest moment to date.
Penalties are still an issue
The Patriots had a 10-point lead late in the second half, but they gave the Bills 30 free yards on back-to-back penalties, which aided in a touchdown drive to cut the deficit to three. They also had a pass interference penalty on the Bills’ subsequent field goal drive. To top it all off, they also jumped on a 3rd-and-1 in between those two series (I actually think that Jared Wilson was the one who jumped first, not Vederian Lowe, but it doesn’t matter, because it cost them a first down regardless of who was at fault).
The Patriots were able to overcome those mistakes, but they have to make sure to clean them up moving forward.
Running back questions remain
The Patriots have had issues with their running back room all season long, and things did not get any better on Sunday. Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled again, and it looks like Antonio Gibson might be out for an extended period of time after leaving the field with a knee injury and promptly getting ruled out. TreVeyon Henderson, meanwhile, doesn’t look ready to be an every-down back, and — despite what he showed in college — he seemingly can’t pass block to save his life.
The Patriots are in a tough situation right now, because they don’t have many options available beyond those three. They are forced to play both Stevenson and Henderson right now, but I don’t know how you could feel confident about either of them. This is going to be a lingering concern all year long, and there does not appear to be a simple solution in sight unless Stevenson fixes his ball security or Henderson takes a big step forward.
This can be fun
I don’t think the Patriots have played a game quite like this against a high-profile opponent since Tom Brady left town on St. Patrick’s Day in 2020. They went into the game looking like they had a real chance to win the game, and, although there wasn’t a ton of scoring in the first half, we got to watch two elite quarterbacks trade punches the entire second half, and the Patriots and Drake Maye just made more plays.
My heart was racing almost all game, and I’m sure most of New England had a hard time falling asleep after that performance Sunday night. With Maye and Vrabel in town, Patriots fans might get a chance to watch these types of games a lot more frequently moving forward.
A winner awaits in Week 6
The Patriots are headed to New Orleans to take on the Saints this weekend. The Saints are coming off their first win of the season against the New York Giants, and their defense has played well all year, even if their offense hasn’t (I, personally, am especially excited, because I’m headed to the game, so let’s hope it’s a good one).
The Patriots are over .500 for the first time this year — and, in fact, since the 2022 season — and this is the start of what should be some fairly easy games. Of course, they have to take advantage because no one in the NFL is going to roll over and just give it to you, regardless of underdog status. The Pats showed that themselves on Sunday night.