Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was in complete control during New England’s 33-27 victory against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
No play depicted that more than Maye’s connection with running back Rhamondre Stevenson during the third quarter. Facing third-and-3 from the New England 24 yard line, and having watched the Dolphins score points on four consecutive possessions, Maye hit Stevenson down the sideline on a perfectly-placed ball. The 55-yard gain marked the longest reception of Stevenson’s career.
“This 55-yard catch and run from Rhamondre Stevenson changed everything for New England,” Patriots insider Phil Perry said on The Breakdown on Monday night.
Patriots insider Tom E. Curran referred to the play as the best of Drake Maye’s career during the Patriots Talk Podcast. Perry echoed those sentiments while appearing on The Breakdown alongside former Patriots linebacker and current analyst Ted Johnson.
Phil and Tom break down Drake Maye’s “best play of his career” on a new Patriots Talk Podcast.
Johnson explained how the Patriots executed the momentum-changing play.
“The Patriots got exactly what they wanted,” Johnson said.
Maye and company knew the Dolphins were in a man-to-man coverage after a Dolphins defender followed Patriots receiver DeMario Douglas on a pre-snap motion. Maye alerted into a man-beating play, a two-man game which put Stevenson and Kayshon Boutte against Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks and cornerback Rasul Douglas, respectively.
Boutte picked Brooks, which allowed Stevenson to gain outside leverage as he ran a wheel route down the sideline. Boutte’s positioning on the rub forced Brooks to go under him as opposed to over, which also helped Stevenson gain a step.
“Kayshon Boutte does a great job of forcing him to go under,” Johnson said. “That’s exactly what you want because once that defender goes under the wash, Rhamondre out-leverages him to the outside and he’s flat-footed so he (Stevenson) beats him by a couple steps.
“The rub-route by Kayshon Boutte on the backside, exploiting the man-to-man coverage right there, getting him to go under so he (Stevenson) can get a step on him,” Johnson continued. “That was beautiful.”
Meanwhile, Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips beat right tackle Morgan Moses off the line of scrimmage and forced the pocket to close quickly on Maye. The second-year QB stepped up, kept his eyes down field and kept both hands on the football as he navigated the chaos. He then delivered the pass to Stevenson.
“There’s pressure from the outside very fast,” Johnson said. “The quarterback (Maye) does a great job of climbing the ladder, climbing the pocket and avoiding the ball getting popped out of there, and makes a beautiful pass over the coverage on the sideline for a nice 55-yard gain.
“This was a huge momentum play,” Johnson said.
The run after catch resulted in the Patriots getting a fresh set of downs at the Miami 21 yard line. On the next snap, Patriots running back Antonio Gibson ran it up the middle for a 15-yard gain. Maye capped it off as he scrambled for a six-yard touchdown two plays after finding Stevenson.
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