It was not an important play in terms of determining the victor–the Patriots were already up, 35-6 at that point–but the fourth-and-3 pass from Drake Maye to Stefon Diggs in the fourth quarter of the 42-13 romp at home on Sunday represented something much bigger. It was, finally, Diggs putting his stamp on this corps of wide receivers in New England, cementing himself as the WR1 the team had hoped he would be.
And it was Maye and Diggs, finally, showing the rapport they’ve talked about since training camp but had yet to show on the field.
On the play, Maye stepped up and found Diggs streaking down the sideline in one-on-one coverage. Maye threw to the back shoulder and Diggs knew enough to stop and come back to the sideline to make the catch in bounds. He did, at the Carolina 4-yard line for a 30-yard connection. That set up the Patriots’ final score of the afternoon.
Stefon Diggs Has 1st 100-Yard Day in 2 Years
On the day, Diggs had six catches on seven targets for 101 yards, his first 100-yard game in nearly two years, since he went for 100 yards on 10 catches back on October 15, 2023, when he was playing for Buffalo.
It was the 37th 100-yard receiving day for Diggs, who played the bulk of the game in the slot, moving in from playing mostly outside early in the season. That meant much less playing time for Pop Douglas (zero catches), who appears to be phased out of the offense with Diggs playing inside.
Maye has been eager to ramp up his connection with Diggs.
“He looked a little faster than I thought,” Maye joked about Diggs, who had ACL surgery 11 months ago and is still getting back to full health. “He looked fast. He looks more and more comfortable. He is a great player with the ball in his hands, and he is a great leader for this team.”
Patriots’ Marcus Jones Ignited Team With Returns
Of course, the story of the game was not just the offense and the nearly mistake-free performance after last week’s Steelers disaster–it was return man Marcus Jones, who returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, then returned another in second quarter for 61 yards, which set up the fourth touchdown of the game for New England, setting them up with a 28-6 lead and ensuring the rout was on.
Jones was certainly the star of the afternoon.
“That’s what we have been looking for,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “… To be able to do that on a punt return, fantastic effort by Marcus and everybody out there but a lot of that was just his own individual will, skill and effort. That has to be a weapon, and it’s something we felt like could be this year.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Patriots Finally Get Key Drake Maye-Stefon Diggs Connection in Week 4 Rout appeared first on Heavy Sports.