FOXBORO — In those moments, Stefon Diggs says he’s just playing in the backyard.
The times he stops midway through a crossing route, sits between two defenders and whips toward Drake Maye.
Or instinctively snaps off his route down the sideline to snatch a back-shoulder throw.
Or veers upfield once he sees Maye scramble out of the pocket, and spins away from his defender to sprint under the arch of another pinpoint pass.
But the thing about the backyard is you only played with those you knew best.
Friends, siblings, friends of siblings or siblings of friends. By NFL standards, Maye and Diggs are still strangers.
If you start with the first passes they first threw together in the spring, Diggs and Maye have spent just five or six months together. If you start with the first passes they threw against live defense, it’s more like two and a half.
Their connection, unspoken yet perfectly understood, is less backyard and more like football magic; the type that can carry a plucky team over a special season. How else do you explain the Pats pulling off their largest primetime, regular-season upset last Sunday?
Well, Maye completed his first game-winning drive of his career. He opened with an off-platform, 12-yard completion to Diggs, a slice of quarterback sorcery. That catch gave Diggs 146 receiving yards, the second-most he’s ever had in a game at Buffalo. Mind you, Diggs played for the Bills for four years, when he tortured the Pats.
Now, consider where the Patriots would be without him.
Sitting at 2-3. Still searching for their first win streak since 2022. Talking about moral victories and taking the long view. Instead, thanks to their quarterback and his new favorite receiver, the conversation around the Patriots now whirs with imagination, hope.
Might they win three in a row starting Sunday with the Saints? How about four, looking ahead to Tennessee? Maybe five once they come home to face the Browns? What about a run to the playoffs?
Wherever the Patriots’ path leads, Maye will be behind the wheel and Diggs will be riding shotgun.
Maye looks for Diggs in critical situations, including five third-down plays at Buffalo, and at the start of drives. Four of the Patriots’ 10 possessions that night opened with passes in Diggs’ direction. His calling card is not the straight-line speed, nor the acceleration that defined his early career.
It’s the simple fact that no matter the coverage, no matter the call, no matter the crushing pressure he finds himself under, Maye can turn, fire and trust Diggs will catch whatever he throws at him.
Diggs has the second-highest catch rate among wide receivers who have seen at least 20 passes, per Sports Info. Solutions. He’s the NFL’s second-best wide receiver against man-to-man coverage, according to Pro Football Focus grades. And he’s water to any cracks in zone coverage, settling into them instantly.
“Finding the zone (holes) is where the league is,” Diggs said Wednesday. “Now, (there’s) not too much man-to-man coverage. There’s still sprinkles here and there. But being able to know where you are, and having a plan — it’s just playing football. I try not to make things overcomplicated. It’s like we’re still in the backyard.”
Zooming out, of course Diggs leads the Pats in all major receiving categories: targets (34), reception (29), receiving yards (387) and receiving first downs (17). But that’s a sea change from the first three weeks, when Diggs barely averaged 37 yards per game.
Days before Diggs broke out in the Patriots’ blowout of Carolina in Week 4, Maye said he felt compelled get him the ball. Maye did it again last week.
Now, we know why.
“I think the biggest thing is that he’s a receiver that’s easy to throw to,” Maye said Wednesday. “He has great hands. He catches different ways with his body. He turns with the football and makes people miss very easily. It’s very natural. You can just tell he’s played receiver a long time and played at a high level. So (I’m) just trying to put it in his vicinity, and he always says, ‘I got you.’ ”
Diggs shared this week that he anticipates a surprise in New Orleans. A changeup in coverage, perhaps, or a new blitz. The Patriots should expect the Saints to double-team him, particularly on third down, and they would be wise to leverage that extra attention to free up their other receivers.
But if Maye is forced to lead another game-winning drive, you know where the ball is going.
To the receiver he wants early and often; to the receiver who catches anything and everything; to the receiver who by finding his old form has transformed his new team.