Copyright Boston.com
All Kyle Williams was waiting for was an opportunity. The 2025 third-round pick’s transition to the NFL ranks hasn’t been seamless. Entering Sunday’s road game against the Buccaneers, the Washington State product had reeled in just two catches for 20 yards while being more on the outside looking in at Drake Maye’s arsenal of pass-catching weapons. But with Maye’s top deep target in Kayshon Boutte sidelined with a hamstring injury on Sunday — and no outside reinforcements to rely on after a quiet trade deadline — the writing was on that wall that Williams was going to be entrusted with more reps at Raymond James Stadium. “If the ball finds him, I think that can be a positive and start to get him some confidence, and get him to be a little bit more comfortable,” Mike Vrabel said of Williams’ opportunity during his pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “He’s been good; a couple positions last week, maybe getting lined up, and once he got over that early in the game I felt like he settled down,” Vrabel added. “Would like to see his speed come out here and be able to help us.” And with New England’s banged-up roster in need of spark, both Williams and fellow rookie TreVeyon Henderson delivered. Despite soldiering on without both Boutte and top running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe injury) on Sunday, the Patriots received more than enough from their explosive rookies to sink the Bucs — with Williams and Henderson combining for three total touchdowns in the 28-23 win over Tampa. “We’re going to need everybody throughout this season. We’re going to need everybody as this thing goes on,” Vrabel said. “With Kayshon being out, there was an opportunity for Kyle; with Rhamondre being out, it led to more opportunities for TreVeyon, and he battled through. “I got worn out running out there to see how our guys were doing as many times as I did, but I’m proud of the guys that battled and competed and laid it on the line.” Williams and Henderson did their best impression of McGwire-Sosa as New England’s potent home run hitters during Sunday’s victory at Raymond James Stadium — finding the end zone off of three plays that all went for 50-plus yards. The duo accounted for 222 of New England’s 435 total net yards on offense Sunday, with their explosive playmaking helping to put Vrabel’s team over the top in arguably their toughest test of the season to this point. “[Williams and] TreVeyon, if they get going, you’re not catching them,” Maye said. Williams’ lone catch of the afternoon helped New England find the end zone on the final play of the first quarter. With New England in need of a counter after Tampa orchestrated a touchdown drive on its first sequence of the afternoon, Maye dropped a ball right into Williams’ hands. Even with Tampa defensive back Tykee Smith closing in on Williams after he reeled in the catch, the subsequent footrace wasn’t close — as Williams turned on the afterburners and stormed down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown. “It was sensational,” Williams said of his first TD. “I don’t think words can really put an explanation on that feeling. We got the look that we want. Shoutout to Drake for making an alert. “At that play, he gets to pick one or two, and he picked me. And then once the ball was in my hand, I saw green grass, and it was bon voyage after that.” At the time of his score, Williams’ top speed of 21.78 miles per hour stood as the fastest time of any rookie ball carrier this season. That record stood until the third quarter, when Henderson — taking advantage of a sizable running lane opened up by Morgan Moses — soared through the line of scrimmage and broke through on a 55-yard touchdown run, giving New England a 21-10 lead at the time. Henderson was clocked at 22.01 miles per hour on his big gain, the new top speed for a rookie ball carrier during the 2025 season. He showcased that 0-to-60 acceleration once again in the fourth quarter — scoring the eventual game-winning touchdown off a 69-yard surge down the field to give his team a 28-16 cushion at the time. Henderson closed out the game as just the second Patriots running back (alongside Laurence Maroney) since 1978 to post multiple 50-yard runs in a single game. “It was hard, but something that I pray on is just embracing hardships, embracing challenges,” Henderson said of dealing with limited snaps at the start of his rookie season. “To accept that it’s going to be hard. It’s not going to be easy. Once seeing Terrell [Jennings] go down [with a knee injury on Sunday], I knew I was going to have to carry a much bigger workload, so I thank God because I feel this week I’ve been pushing myself to just prepare for when those moments come.” An already potent Patriots offense — especially with Maye uncorking howitzers down the field — would welcome more contributions from a pair of high-end playmakers like Henderson and Williams moving forward. According to ESPN Research, Sunday was the first game that the Patriots have recorded both a passing and rushing touchdown of 50-plus yards since Week 4 of the 1997 season — a game where Drew Bledsoe hit Troy Brown on a 52-yard passing TD, and Curtis Martin ran into the end zone from 70 yards out in an eventual 31-3 win over the Bears at Foxboro Stadium. But Williams and Henderson were far from the only rookies on New England’s roster who pulled on the rope and helped the Patriots secure their seventh win in a row. After getting sacked 12 times over the previous two games, Maye was only taken down once in Sunday’s win in Tampa, with rookie starters Will Campbell and Jared Wilson holding their own on the offensive line against a blitz-heavy Bucs defense. On defense, starting safety Craig Woodson recorded eight tackles and batted down two passes, while fellow rookie Elijah Ponder helped orchestrate a critical fourth-down stop with his first career sack against Baker Mayfield in the final quarter of regulation. Maye’s ascension as an elite quarterback, Vrabel’s steady stewardship of the football program, and the contributions of established veterans like Stefon Diggs, Robert Spillane, Morgan Moses, Mack Hollins, and countless others have played key roles in New England’s current standing as a legitimate contender in the AFC. But as the weather starts to chill and the stakes get even higher for a banged-up Patriots roster, New England might have to rely on fresher legs down the stretch in order to keep this team’s playoff hopes alive. As evidenced on Sunday, New England’s rookies should be up for the challenge. “I’m just proud of him for stepping up,” Maye said of Williams. “He only got maybe one target and made it count. So I’m just proud of him for getting in there. He got a lot of reps this week, and I think there were some times on the tape where he was probably more open. I’ve just got to look his way.”
