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The Patriots continued to pile on the wins after Saturday’s 24-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but a missed extra point from Parker Romo in the fourth quarter helped lift New England to a 7-2 record. The Patriots have now won six in a row and prepare to go on the road to take on the 6-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s what’s being said about the thrilling win for New England. ESPN “Drake Maye? Maye was sacked six times for 38 yards, one week after being sacked six times for 37 yards. Some of that is a result of blocking in front of him, but Maye has acknowledged that he can do more to protect himself at times (and also protect the ball by keeping two hands on it, which he didn’t do on a lost fumble late in the second quarter). Since 2000, Maye is the third Patriots quarterback to be sacked five or more times in back-to-back games, joining Jacoby Brissett (2024) and Drew Bledsoe (2000).” Bleacher Report “The New England Patriots aren’t just a feel-good story. They’re legitimately one of the AFC’s best teams. “A season ago, the Patriots were terrible. They had a promising rookie quarterback, with some of the league’s worst skill-position talent. Eventually, the organization fired Jerod Mayo after his first season at the helm, because he clearly wasn’t ready to be an NFL head coach. “Conversely, Vrabel had a proven track record of placing a well-prepared and competitive squad on the field when he led the Tennessee Titans. He’s now doing the same with the Patriots. “At 7-2, New England is tied for the AFC’s best record. They’re finding ways to win and push the Buffalo Bills to capture an AFC East crown.” CBS Sports “After winning in two straight blowouts, this was a gut-check game for the Patriots and they definitely passed the test. The defense got its gut check in the fourth quarter: The Falcons had a chance to drive down and take a lead with a late field goal, but the defense forced an Atlanta punt. The defense came up especially big on third down with the Falcons converting just 10% of their attempts. “On the offensive side of the ball, let’s talk about DeMario Douglas, who came out of nowhere to catch four passes for a season-high 100 yards. The Patriots had four different receivers catch at least three passes as Drake Maye spread the ball around. The Patriots continue to be one of the most surprising teams in the NFL this year and they just won their sixth straight game.” NFL “After stopping the Falcons on fourth down in the second quarter, the Patriots were leading, 21-7, when they drove to midfield with time to tack on more points before halftime. But Maye was strip-sacked, leading to a shocking Falcons TD that made it a 21-14 Patriots lead. On the first play of the second half, Maye nearly fumbled the ball away again on another sack. The Patriots kicked a field goal on that drive (after a third-down sack) and eventually put the Falcons away. Maye was sacked six times, which is a problem, even against the blitz-happy Falcons. “That’s now 16 sacks over the past three games alone on Maye. The hits appeared to have an effect, too, as Maye struggled the more the game wore on. The Patriots didn’t have running back Rhamondre Stevenson and they lost wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to an injury early on, but that doesn’t excuse the pass-protection issues that plagued them most of the day.” Sports Illustrated “A little nuance: When the Patriots could’ve just handed the ball off on a third down, and run more clock, they chose to let Drake Maye throw to move the chains. And move the chains he did, with a little rollout pass to Hunter Henry to convert. With the Chiefs having lost Sunday, Maye may be my midseason MVP.” USA TODAY “Gillette Stadium just isn’t the kicker’s scene. Two-plus months after Romo lost a competition to rookie Andy Borregales for the New England Patriots’ job, Romo missed an extra point that proved decisive in the Atlanta Falcons’ 24-23 loss. Romo enjoyed a nice debut in stepping in for Younghoe Koo, converting all five field-goal attempts in a Week 2 win over the Vikings. But he’s missed three field goals since then, and it’s difficult for a team with this little margin for error to operate like this.”
