The New England Patriots are legit. I’ve been cautious when predicting just how successful the organization can be in the immediate future, as conventional wisdom would suggest this is just the first step to a prolonged rebuild. Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye have other ideas… The Patriots kept themselves in the driver’s seat in the AFC East on Sunday, securing a gutsy 28-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. I’ve got your takeaways: MAYE GIVETH, MAYE TAKETH Drake Maye is the odds-on favorite to win MVP — but he’s nothing if not flawed. Story continues below advertisement Maye not only tossed a careless end-zone interception late in the fourth quarter — which kept his opponent in a position to score the game-winning touchdown — but also had multiple instances where he straddled the sideline and took unnecessary hits that could have led to an injury. The Patriots will ride the highs and lows, especially if he continues to play like a top-five quarterback, but the unnecessary nature of those mistakes are pretty frustrating. ROOKIE REVOLUTION Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson, take a bow. Story continues below advertisement The Patriots rookies combined for three explosive touchdowns on Sunday — with Williams’ 72-yard catch-and-run serving as the club’s longest passing play of the season and Henderson’s 55-and 69-yard scampers serving as the club’s longest rushing plays of the season. New England selected those two with the express intent of adding an explosive element to the offense, and finally saw that investment pay off as their roles expanded following injuries to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and running back Rhamondre Stevenson. MOTHER NATURE!? The Patriots must have done something to irk mother nature, who displayed her wrath early in what ended up being an alright afternoon in Central Florida. Story continues below advertisement New England’s first offensive drive was pretty ugly, as sudden rain had an obvious impact on back-to-back run stuffs that forced an early fourth-down conversion and three straight misfires from Drake Maye. Tampa Bay’s first two drives — which included a touchdown — were played under clear skies. CBS’ Jim Nantz and Tony Romo joked that an investigation would have been opened had that odd trend continued. PLAYING WITH FIRE Mike Vrabel got entirely too cute at the end of the first half… Story continues below advertisement The Patriots purposely didn’t score from the one-yard line, electing to burn some clock despite earning a new set of downs at the goal line following the two-minute warning. The Buccaneers, of course, contributed to that decision, calling their third and final timeout to stop the clock at 1:44. Maye essentially kneeled on the ball to start killing clock, before Henderson was denied on back-to-back plays to set up fourth down — where Stefon Diggs bailed everyone out with a spectacular touchdown catch as time expired in the second quarter. REMINDER: RELAX K’Lavon Chaisson, Khyiris Tonga and Mack Hollins have been absolutely fantastic this season — which is a decent reminder not to make sweeping assumptions about depth signings. Story continues below advertisement Chaisson continued adding to his career-high sack total (6.5) with another in the first quarter on Sunday. Tonga is suddenly playing both ways, adding fullback duties to his plate while continuing to thrive on the defensive interior. Hollins plays more than almost any other wide receiver on the roster while remaining a key contributor on special teams. New England will continue to sign journeyman veterans, so just take a step back and relax before you say something silly that will be proven incorrect midway through the season — I know I will. Story continues below advertisement NO SLOWING DOWN Diggs remains as spectacular as he always has been, and doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down any time soon. Diggs finished with five catches, 46 yards and that tremendous touchdown that we mentioned earlier, displaying his value for what seems like the seventh consecutive week — remaining the club’s leader in receptions (50) and receiving yards (554). The Patriots have almost certainly gotten more than they expected when signing the 31-year old who was coming off a season-ending injury and had seen his numbers dip in back-to-back season — and they’re glad they have.