Tony Romo says Drake Maye and Patriots are FOR REAL after win over Buccaneers | Game Recap

Tony Romo says Drake Maye and Patriots are FOR REAL after win over Buccaneers | Game Recap

Back here on CBS Sports HQ presented by Trimfaya. Tayvon Henderson seals the deal. Have a day kid. 14 carries, 147 yards, two touchdowns. First multi-touchdown game of his NFL career. And we were thinking maybe just just go down. No, no, no. Just go score, kid. And let’s get back out to Tampa. Welcome in Tony Romo. And Tony, I know you guys were talking about the idea there of just going down. No, no, no. Score the touchdown, right? Like let let the kid have his moment. What did you see from Trayvon Henderson in this game? Able to break free multiple times in this game? Well, that was the difference in the game. It was two teams who were very similar in many fronts. You got both dominant D lines, especially up in the middle, and it was going to be who can run the football cuz both these teams can stuff the run, you know, at a very high level. And you know, both quarterbacks have been playing off the charts, but it was a very close, tight game, but they played it close to the vest. Screens on third and long. Didn’t just allow things to happen. The turnover almost hurt New England, but now when you have Henderson rolling like he did, that was so impressive and fun to watch. Yeah, some late game drama that the game started so quickly with Tampa Bay going down and scoring a touchdown to Amecha Ibuka, former teammate of Trayvon Henderson at Ohio State. And then you see Drake May make the mistake uh throwing the interception in the end zone. What’s your takeaway now seeing him up close and personal because he now is the favorite to win NFL MVP? I think the biggest thing I mean the MVP changes every week we feel like but he’s had some sustained success for a while now for such a young guy to come in and really understand football and he’s benefited from having Josh McDaniels there and you need a coach somebody to really teach you and then you get to show off your talent which he has and boy it’s come to fruition. I mean if people did not think this team was for real they are. New England can make a run in in the playoffs. Yeah. Uh this is an incredible Patriots team and we saw what happened with Buffalo in Miami getting upset. This Patriots team uh if people didn’t know they are for real. What does this mean for Mike Vrabel and the Patriots going on the road and getting this win? Well, you’re trying to create a culture and you’re trying to impose your vision on the team and the more you win and the more the guys see success, the more they believe in it. So, it just compounds on itself and I feel like that’s happening right now. And this is a young football team and they brought in some veterans in the offseason and they’ve all performed up to the standard, but they had a vision for this and their template is playing out exactly how they did. It’s a little earlier than I think most people thought, but when you have a great interior front on defense and you can run the football a little bit and create the big plays that they have, I mean, that’s a template to win anywhere. Patriots have won seven in a row. Tony Romo calling their latest victory from Tampa Bay. Tony, appreciate the time. Always stopping by here on CBS Sports HQ. [Music] Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Great stuff from Tony Roma there talking a little ball about the Patriots. And well, look at this here. Starting eight and two or better after back-to-back 13-point losses as you compare them with the Colts in 1999. Payton Manning, the starting quarterback, Drake May, the starting quarterback for the Patriots. How will they finish? Well, Patriots are 8-2, their best 10game start since 2019. Tom Brady’s last season with New England. All right, back here in studio, Jonathan Jones, Brian McFad, and Melvin Gordon. Melvin, let’s start with Trayvon Henderson. I mean, look, this kid goes into this game, a huge opportunity with Raandre Stevenson out. What did you see from him where he gets the opportunity, he’s behind uh the blockers, right? And he’s just creating he’s creating momentum for himself out of the back field. I think that’s what uh that’s what running back, special running backs do, you know? You have to create something that’s not there. It’s the NFL. The hoes are not going to always be there. you got to create something and make something happen. Um, he’s been showing flashes all year though to say that. I mean, he’s been on special teams. You see the speed, you see what he’s been doing. I thought he’d be starting way earlier to be honest with you, but I knew his time would come. And uh, like I said, the more he gets settled in and comfortable, the sky’s the limit and I think New England going to have himself a guy. Do you think the reason why he didn’t start earlier because it was Mike Vrabel and he wanted to have a veteran there to kind of lead the way for the rookie? That that could be. Uh, there’s no doubt about that. I’ll tell you this, when Raandre Stevenson was coughing the football up a whole lot, I was asking folks in New England, why is Vrabel not sitting him down? Why do you not see any sort of consequences for these actions in the following game? And I was told that that is the point that Vrabel was trying to make with Raandre by not sitting him that he was hoping to sort of make that statement. Now, of course, that Raandre was out due to injury. Trayvon gets this opportunity. I I completely agree with you. Whether it’s Trayvon starting when Raandre is back or whether he has earned himself more opportunities, there’s no doubt they’re putting the ball in his chest more. And it’s it’s opening opportunities for Drake May beac because you see him and he did make the mistake throwing the interception in the end zone late in that game which could have been costly, but Henderson bails him out in the end. You know, the first telling sign of a really really good quarterback, their ability to make the players around them look better than what we look at them as in terms of na NFL wide receivers. Today M. Collins was his leading receiver over a 100 yards. You saw Kyle Williams showed up in the stat sheet. Remember, they’re missing their top wide receiver in Keshan who has merged to be their wide receiver one. And you still have Stefon Diggs who made some timely plays today. This is all about Drake May. That’s what we saw last year with Jaden Daniels. Remember, he made the pass catchers with the Commanders look better than what we looked at them to be in terms of what they’ve done throughout their professional career. So, Drake May has been amazing. And I’ll say this, when you look at the Patriots being 8-2, currently tied with the Indianapolis Colts for the top uh record in the AFC, I like the Patriots chances to lock up that number one seed solely because of what they are doing on the football field. But outside of that, look at their schedule. They got the Jets, Cincy, Giants, Buffalo at Baltimore, Jets, Miami. What are you saying? They’re going to run the table? I’m not saying they’re going to run the table. I’m saying their remaining schedule is softer than the Colts. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Because remember once the season when they reveal the schedule, the Patriots had the the easiest strength of schedule throughout the entire NFL. So when you look at the gauntlet they’ve currently gone through and finishing on a high note, which would be important to get that number one spot, you don’t like their chances? Chances are pretty good. I will say this because everyone was getting on the Patriots about their schedule as though this was college and they could make their schedule, right? as though this were the BCS and you care about strength of schedule, you only play I mean this formula I can tell you the Patriots are playing seven years from now and where they’re playing and what the moon is going to be at that time. Okay, but when you look at what the Patriots have done, they have beaten the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo and they just went to Tampa and just beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa. And so while they may not have the most formidable opponents coming up in their schedule, the ones that are on their slate, they’re handling, they are taking care of business. So credit to the Patriots and I think someone mentioned about that defense, right? This is a top five defense of both third and fourth down defense. And so Drake May throwing that interception in the end zone against Tampa in Tampa. That could be a killer. This was a big team win. Absolutely. When you take a look at this team, if you didn’t think that New England could win the AFC East with Buffalo, I think you need to start realizing that there’s other uh ideas here for New England with Drake May, with Trayvon Henderson uh and and this defense. This is incredible when you think about what they’re off to. to an 8-2 start and about to I’m already going ahead and give him 9 and two, but we did see up upsets of plenty here in week 10. So, it’s it’s not Look, it can happen. Somebody can happen. You’re right. It can. It can, but it’s unlikely. It’s it’s unlikely. Uh look, we’re comparing the Patriots and the Colts here from 1999. 8-2 or better after back-to-back 13-point loss season 13 loss seasons. uh the Colts 99. They finished 13 and three with Peyton Manning and uh Drake May. Well, he’s going to try to lead them to another Super Bowl. It’s not out of the question, right? I mean, they got a great defense. They got a solid offense. Probably not uh in the people’s preseason predictions, but hey, Patriots, seven straight wins.

Tony Romo, Jonathan Jones, Bryant McFadden and Melvin Gordon join CBS Sports HQ to recap Patriots-Buccaneers in Week 10.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/user/CBSSports

WATCH
CBS Sports HQ: https://www.cbssports.com/live/
Paramount Plus: https://www.paramountplus.com

FOLLOW US ON:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CBSSports/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cbssports/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/CBSSports

#nfl #patriots #buccaneers