When the Patriots hosted the Steelers in Week 3, they lost ugly.
When the Patriots hosted the Falcons in Week 9, they won ugly.
The latter scenario is, quite obviously, a far better result. And though Sunday’s win was sloppy at some times and sleepy at others, it did feature a Patriots team that executed in some critical moments while their opponent did not.
And as every football-following human being in New England knows, the ability to win games while not playing anything close to a perfect game is often the mark of a team that has graduated out of the class of teams that can only be described as “good.”
No, we can’t slap a great stamp on the Patriots after the victory over the Falcons, but they’ve now won six games in a row. They’re now tied for having the best record in the National Football League. And even if they were largely responsible for creating the adversity they faced in this game, they did still work through it and won the game.
And interestingly, even though Mike Vrabel gives off an old-school, hard-nosed football coach vibe, he spent a minute after the game speaking in detail about the importance of celebrating every single win in the NFL.
“Understand that that’s how it goes in this league sometimes,” Vrabel said. “It’s tough, but embrace — don’t let anybody take the joy of what we do. Joy is authentic. Joy comes from these guys caring about each other, being happy for the guy next to them that made a play. Joy is about what we do in here. And I think that they need to embrace that and be thankful for what they get to do and what I get to do.
“We talked about when you get — sometimes you get this taken away from you, whether you’re a player and you get cut or you’re a coach and you get fired and you get another opportunity, you want to try to make the most of it and enjoy it.”
There’s no doubt that Vrabel will be a bit more critical when the Patriots go over the film from Sunday. Yet that comment did provide a glimpse into the way he leads that team and why they won’t be apologizing for any win. Even if it’s ugly.
With that in mind, let’s hit the leftover thoughts from Sunday’s 24-23 win over the Falcons, thanks in large part to a missed extra point by former preseason Patriot Parker Romo.
— We are a quarterback-obsessed nation, so we’ll start with Drake Maye. And for the first time in a while, we’ve got some real demerits to hand out.
Trying to stiff-arm a free rusher instead of protecting the football? That’s a demerit, son.
Being on the wrong page with the tight end and throwing a pass directly to a safety? Mark it down for one more.
Fumbling without being touched on the first offensive snap of the second half? Tsk tsk, slap the wrist.
Cutting a run back to the middle of the field and exposing himself to a potential big hit in the opening minutes of the game? Sub-optimal.
In short, all of the things that Maye had cleaned up over the past month-plus appeared to creep back into his game a bit, and he was kind of lucky that it didn’t end up costing his team the win.
— At the same time, Maye had some “wow” plays in this one, and he also had more passing yards in the first half than most opposing QBs amassed in entire games against Atlanta this season.
Drake Maye had 173 passing yards in the first half.
Here’s how many yards every other QB has gotten vs. the Atlanta defense this year in FULL games.
Baker Mayfield: 167
J.J. McCarthy: 158
Bryce Young: 121
Marcus Mariota: 156
Josh Allen: 180
Mac Jones: 152
Tua Tagovailoa: 205
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) November 2, 2025
He fit a pass through a non-existent window while on the move to hit Hunter Henry and convert a third-and-7 in the second quarter:
He put the perfect touch on a third-and-11 pass to Stefon Diggs in the fourth quarter, lofting it over a diving defensive back and fitting in comfortably in front of the next level of the defense.
And don’t forget the touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas.
That was nice.
Put it all together, and when you can be somewhat disappointed by a 19-for-29, 259-yard, 2-TD, 1-INT day against a pass defense that statistically ranked No. 1 entering the game, then chances are you’ve got a pretty good quarterback.
He also tied the third-longest streak of at least a 100 passer rating (min. 15 attempts) in @NFL history, joining Peyton Manning (2004-05), Tom Brady (2007, 2010) and Aaron Rodgers (2011) as the only players to do so in eight-straight games.#NEPats https://t.co/jyrbbCLejE
— Patriots Communications (@PatriotsComms) November 2, 2025
— Maye also wins the Big Play In A Sneaky Big Spot Award for this week, even if it didn’t jump off the screen. Facing a third-and-10 early in the second quarter, the Patriots badly needed a stabilizing drive. The Patriots’ previous drive was a three-and-out, and the Falcons scored in a hurry to tie the game right after it. After a sack and a short run, Maye was staring another three-and-out in the face.
Yet Maye stayed calm and kept his patience, waiting for Hunter Henry to break on his route toward the sideline before delivering an easy pass that was good for an 11-yard catch-and-run.
Maye hit Henry again to convert a third-and-7 three plays later and connected with Austin Hooper for 20 yards to get into the red zone. From there, Terrell Jennings ran twice — first for 11, then three yards for his first NFL touchdown — and the Patriots were on top, 14-7. (The Falcons then went three-and-out and the Patriots scored again to make it a 21-7 lead just four minutes later.)
That simple play on third-and-10 wasn’t spectacular, and it won’t end up on “SportsCenter,” TikTok, YouTube or X (the everything app). It was, simply, instrumental in winning a football game. Sneaky big play in a sneaky big spot.
— Hey, speaking of that Terrell Jennings touchdown, peep Will Campbell manhandling the 310-pound David Onyemata to open up the hole:
Lots of moving parts in there, but Campbell and Jack Westover delivered the key blocks.
— Will Campbell also tracked down James Pearce Jr. after the strip-sack late in the second quarter, and Mike Vrabel really appreciated being asked about the pursuit on that play.
“Well, I think that those plays, if you do those enough, you’re going to save points,” Vrabel said. “There’s going to be another time in the season where somebody is going to have to do that and the defense is going to get a stop. We weren’t able to get a stop on that particular effort, but that won’t go unnoticed. I appreciate your perspective and your willingness to point that out because the play is never over. Maybe the next time that ball gets knocked out, Will knocks that ball out or Diggs is chasing a receiver one time and knocks the ball out or chasing the linebacker down in Cleveland. So we don’t want to turn the football over, but when we do, we expect the effort, and that’s certainly the — Will was doing that, and that’s going to save points the next time.”
— DeMario Douglas delivered the best postgame line, after being asked about his rumblin’/stumblin’ 58-yard catch-and-run.
After a deep breath of disbelief, Douglas said, “I stay stumbling.”
— When the Patriots signed K’Lavon Chaisson in March, did you say, “That dude is definitely setting a new career high for sacks before Week 10”?
I know I sure did. Same thing with Khyiris Tonga. I said, “Not only will he be an impact interior D-lineman despite the presence of Milton Williams and Christian Barmore getting most of the snaps, but he’s also going to be used on offense, motioning from a tight end spot to play fullback and bulldoze a hole for Terrell Jennings (who is a guy I know) to convert on a third-and-1 with a six-yard run.”
I was saying that stuff to anyone who would listen.
— I have some information for you regarding the Patriots’ run defense. It comes directly from the Patriots’ communication staff:
“The Patriots are the only team in 2025 that has not surrendered 50 yards to a running back through the first nine games. It is the first time in team history that has occurred. The longest streak since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970 is 10 by Tampa Bay in 2020.”
That is something. And the Patriots head to Tampa next week with a chance to match the 2020 Bucs for an obscure but impressive record.
— Mike Onwenu had a rough one. He gave up the strip sack on after drifting outside on what turned out to be a stunt:
And he got straight-up beat on a second-and-goal — again by Jalon Walker — for another sack, contributing to the Patriots settling for a field goal.
Carlton Davis also immediately got picked on after Christian Gonzalez left with his head injury, giving up an easy fourth-down conversion to Drake London before allowing what should have been the game-tying touchdown.
Drake London was kind of picking on everyone, though. Marcus Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, he really didn’t care. He was the best Drake on the field in a game involving with the Patriots, which quite frankly is a difficult feat to pull off.
— Stefon Diggs only caught three passes, but he made them count. His 11-yard touchdown was all him, as he caught it at the 9-yard line and made numerous people look silly before Supermanning his way to the pylon.
And he came up with a 21-yard grab on a third-and-12 in the fourth quarter.
He’s now caught 45 passes for 508 yards and two touchdowns. That puts him on pace for just under 1,000 yards on the season.
He is, of course, only halfway there. But his impactful output has certainly seemed sustainable, and he’s already produced more than some people thought he would for the entire season.
While I may have nailed the Chaisson and Tonga projections, I’ll admit I was a little off with my Diggs expectations.
— Diggs also caught the 900th pass of his career, making him the 29th player to reach that mark. Now with 902 career receptions, he’ll pass Wes Welker on the all-time receptions list with two more catches, and then he’ll be chasing Julio Jones (914), Torry Holt (920), Antonio Brown (928) and Hall of Famer Art Monk (940).
That type of rise up a leadership forces the powers that be to put some otherworldly lighting on you when you score your touchdown:
Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs dives for the pylon to score a touchdown against the Falcons. Photo: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Stefon Diggs celebrates his touchdown with teammates. Photo: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
— Back to those preseason expectations … the Patriots are now 7-2. Seven and freaking two. A 10-win expectation was considered high, but they’ll now have to go just 3-6 to reach that mark. I think they’ll take care of that one, don’t you?
— Here’s your nice story of the day: Brothers Kaden and Christian Elliss exchanging jerseys postgame.
Brothers Kaden Elliss and Christian Elliss exchange jerseys after the Patriots beat the Falcons in Foxboro. Photo: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
That’s nice.
— Maybe the worst potential news out of this game was Kayshon Boutte suffering a hamstring injury and not returning to the game. He’s just been so good for Drake Maye all year, and while there’s definitely a stable of receivers to help make up some of the production, there’s no replacing the downfield chemistry that the quarterback has with Boutte.
You also have to be discouraged by Kyle Williams to do anything all year and on Sunday after Boutte left. He was technically targeted once, but he broke inside while Maye threw outside for an incompletion.
If Boutte looks like he’ll have to miss the trip to Tampa next weekend, Josh McDaniels might want to draw up something — anything — to try to scheme up a productive touch for the rookie receiver.
— DeMario Douglas owes Mike Vrabel an Edible Arrangement for challenging the spot on his early third-quarter catch along the Patriots’ sideline. Vrabel had a front-row seat for the catch, where Douglas impressively boxed out Mike Hughes and absorbed some decent contact while hauling it in. So Vrabel knew that the ball was incorrectly spotted short of the line to gain.
Technically, it was an unnecessarily risky challenge, because the Patriots would have had one or two chances to gain the yard and keep the drive alive. But that wasn’t an issue, because Vrabel was correct.
As a result, Douglas got 15 yards on the reception instead of 13, getting him to 100 yards for the first time in his career.
— And we end … with this:
Life is strange sometimes.