Copyright MassLive
TAMPA, Fla. – There’s a reason why the Patriots were underdogs on Sunday. Heading into this matchup, Mike Vrabel’s team, traveling on the road, was missing starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson, receiver Kayshon Boutte, and linebacker Christian Elliss. They were going up against one of their toughest tests in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who sit at the top of the NFC South and were coming off a bye week. At the start of this matchup, the Patriots looked like underdogs. The defense allowed another opening-score drive. The offense was unusually quiet, punting in their first two drives. But as we’ve seen this season, there’s no quit in this Vrabel-led team. On Sunday, the tide turned in the Patriots’ favor at the end of the first half. A gutsy call from Vrabel, to go for it on fourth-and-1, led to a touchdown with time expired. The Patriots then opened up the third quarter with an explosive play. The double-score gave the Patriots a 21-10 lead early in the third quarter. The Patriots then found out why the Buccaneers are considered one of the better teams in the NFC. Tampa Bay was 27 yards away from taking the lead late in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Patriots continued to fight en route to this wild 28-23 win. Vrabel’s team improves to 8-2. Here’s what went down: Patriots defense struggles to start Once again, the Patriots started slow on defense. A week after finally stopping an opposing offense on the first series, the Patriots first-quarter problems persisted in Tampa. The Buccaneers needed just six plays to travel 65 yards and score a touchdown on the game-opening drive. Baker Mayfield kicked things off with a 24-yard pass to Emeka Egbuka. Four plays later, Mayfield connected with Egbuka again, this time for a 21-yard touchdown at 11:23 of the first quarter. The Patriots started this season allowing a score on their opponents’ first drive in six of the first eight games of the season. Now, it’s happened seven times in 10 games. Patriots offense struggles to start The Patriots offense also started slowly on Sunday. They began their first drive with Maye hitting Stefon Diggs for a 9-yard gain. It then took the Patriots three tries to gain 1 yard. After Terrell Jennings and Maye were stuffed, they gained the first down on fourth-and-1 using defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga as a fullback. That brought them near midfield, but it didn’t matter as Maye’s next three passes, all targeted to Mack Hollins, were incomplete and the Patriots punted. After the Patriots defense stopped the Bucs on their second drive, Marcus Jones wanted to return the ensuing punt. However, the electric returner slipped and fell on the 6-yard line, setting up Maye’s unit with tough field position. The offense gained two first downs, but then punted before reaching midfield. Rookie receiver steps up This week, Kyle Williams said he was prepared to step up with Boutte out. The rookie did just that at the end of the first quarter. After Tampa Bay’s second punt, the Patriots started their third drive on the 28-yard line. On the first play, Maye faked a handoff to the running back and then hit Williams on the right side of the field near the 40-yard line. That’s when the third-round pick turned on the jets and ran 72 yards for the touchdown. According to Next Gen Stats, Williams reached 21.78 MPH, which ties for the seventh fastest speed by any ball carrier this season. Williams came into this game with two catches for 20 yards this season. That play marked the first touchdown of his NFL career as the Patriots tied the game, 7-7, at the end of the first quarter. Patriots run low on running backs In their fourth series, the Patriots went pass-heavy and didn’t run the ball once. The results weren’t great as the drive ended with two Maye incomplete passes in a row. Soon after, we found out why the Patriots didn’t run the ball. Backup running back Terrell Jennings suffered a knee injury and was listed as questionable to return. That injury left the Patriots with two running backs on the roster with rookie TreVeyon Henderson and veteran D’Ernest Johnson, who was called up from the practice squad. Rookie receiver torches Patriots The Buccaneers came into this game without two veteran Pro Bowl receivers, with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out. However, Tampa Bay still had rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka, and the first-round pick hurt the Patriots in the first half. After scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, Egbuka caught a 31-yard pass in the second quarter. That gave him three catches for 76 yards and a score in the first half. It also set up a 36-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal as Tampa Bay took a 10-7 lead at 7:16 of the second quarter. Patriots make it hard on themselves The Patriots didn’t always make it easy on themselves. At the end of the first half, the team had multiple penalties that pushed them back. However, thanks to their quarterback, they persevered. After a false start by Jared Wilson, Maye hit Stefon Diggs for a gain of 19 yards. Then, after a false start on Jared Wilson, Maye connected with DeMario Douglas for 26 yards on third-and-7. That brought the offense to the red zone and soon enough, had a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. However, like we saw earlier in the half, gaining 1 yard wasn’t easy for the Patriots. On first down, it appeared as though Maye intentionally went down, trying not to score to run out the clock. That almost backfired as Henderson was stuffed on second and third down. On fourth-and-1, Maye hit Diggs for a 1-yard touchdown to take a 14-10 lead at the half. Another rookie steps up The Patriots were trailing 10-7 when they got the ball back at the end of the first half. Two quick scores gave them a two-score lead. Much like Williams in the first half, Henderson stepped up in the second half. With Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) out, the rookie running back started his second game in a row on Sunday. In the second half, Henderson made the most of the opportunity as he took the second snap of the third quarter and ran 55 yards for a touchdown. That run gave Henderson a career-high 77 yards as the Patriots took a 21-10 lead at 14:12 of the third quarter. Bucs gain life The Buccaneers wouldn’t go away quietly. Although the Patriots defense settled down after a rough start, Tampa Bay found its footing in the middle of the third quarter. Things started to go downhill when Christian Gonzalez was flagged for a 22-yard defensive pass interference penalty. After that, the Buccaneers gained four first downs in four plays. The fourth set Tampa Bay up with a first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. On third down, Mayfield hit Tez Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed, and the Patriots led 21-16 at 4:12 of the third quarter. Undrafted rookie notches first sack Elijah Ponder picked a good time to get his first NFL sack. After the Patriots went three-and-out, the Buccaneers had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter. However, Ponder sacked Mayfield on second-and-4. The undrafted free agent dropped the veteran quarterback for a loss of five yards. That led to the Buccaneers going three-and-out and punting the ball back to the Patriots with 8:10 remaining. Turnover ruins great moment The Patriots had a great opportunity to put this game away, but then Maye made a rare mistake. The offense was struggling, scoreless for three drives in a row, when they were facing a third-and-14. That’s when Maye dropped back and hit Hollins for a 54-yard pass with 7:27 left in the game. Fans inside Raymond James Stadium broke out in a brief “MVP!” chant. A penalty then put the Patriots at the 3-yard line. The offense was at the 2-yard line when Maye made a bad decision, throwing into a crowded end zone and was intercepted by safety Tykee Smith at 5:25 left on the clock. Defense steps up, Henderson finishes The Buccaneers got the ball back and drove downfield. Tampa Bay gained three first downs and found themselves 27 yards away from taking a lead. That’s when the defense stepped up. On third-and-3, Jaylinn Hawkins broke up a pass intended for Otton. Then, on fourth-and-3, Milton Williams got to Mayfield, who barely got the ball off to Rachaad White. White was dropped for a loss of 3 yards by Hawkins. The offense took over with 1:47 remaining. Two plays later, Henderson scored his second touchdown of the game on an explosive 69-yard run. That put the Patriots up 28-16 and secured their eighth win of the season. Henderson finished with a career-high 147 yards to go with his two touchdowns. The Buccaneers got one last touchdown from Mayfield to Johnson with 33 seconds left on the clock. Diggs recovered the onside kick.
