Behind a history-making performance by 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye, the New England Patriots overwhelmed the hapless New York Jets on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on each of their first five drives to win by a 42-10 score.
The win clinched the AFC East for the Patriots for the first time since 2019, ending the Buffalo Bills‘ dominance of the division in the five years since. But the Patriots’ season finale in Week 18 still carries tremendous significance for their chances at making a deep playoff run, possibly even competing for a Super Bowl.
As if Week 18 was not going to be important enough for the Patriots, an NFL announcement on Monday served to amp up the drama.
Maye Makes History
Maye, in his sophomore season, was already a leading contender for the NFL MVP award, trailing only Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who at age 37 played his rookie season when Maye was seven years old.
But the 2024 No. 3 overall draft pick only increased his odds with a performance for the ages on Sunday.
According to NFL senior researcher Dante Koplowitz-Fleming, by the time Patriots coach Mike Vrabel sat Maye and let backup Josh Dobbs take over, with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter, the former North Carolina Tar Heel had thrown for 250 yards and five touchdowns while completing at least 90 percent of his passes â the first quarterback in NFL history to accomplish that trifecta.
Maye was also credited with a total quarterback rating of 99.8. That’s the highest QBR since the statistic was introduced in 2006 â albeit tied with four other quarterbacks, including the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, who did it twice.
But Maye’s individual accomplishments took a back seat to the Patriots’ team achievement, completely turning their franchise around after back-to-back seasons of just four wins each. But there remains another step to take.
Patriots Must Defeat Resurgent Miami
The Patriots, currently seeded No. 2 in the AFC, can jump to the No. 1 seed and with it the coveted bye week exempting them from playing on Wild Card Weekend.
Reaching that goal is not entirely within the Patriots’ control, however. To get there, the Patriots must win their Week 18 home matchup against the 7-9 Miami Dolphins. While the Dolphins are eliminated from playoff contention, they scored a 20-17 upset over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and have now won five of their last seven games.
But beating the Dolphins will not be enough. The Denver Broncos, currently holding the top seed, must lose to the Los Angeles Chargers â at home.
NFL Announcement Heightens Tension
On Monday, the NFL announced that both games will take place at the same time, meaning that the suspense of who will capture the top AFC seed will be concentrated in a single time slot.
That slot is 4:25 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, January 4. The Patriots vs. Dolphins game at Gillette Stadium will be carried on the Fox network. The Broncos against the Chargers from Denver will be televised by CBS.
Regions in which each game will be telecast will be announced on Wednesday, December 31.
Perhaps unfortunately, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh undercut the tension the NFL was apparently trying to create by announcing that he plans to rest his starting players, including quarterback Justin Herbert, for the Broncos game.
Depending on how the Broncos choose to approach the game, Harbaugh is essentially conceding the win to Denver, ruining the Patriotsâ chances at the No. 1 seed.
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