Fan Notes from the Patriots 28-24 win over the Ravens

For the first time since 2021, the New Englnad Patriots have made the playoffs.

And amazingly, for the first time since 2016, the Patriots have overcome an 11-point deficit to give keep Drake “Drake Maye” Maye’s primetime record pristine. Not a bad way to head into the holiday week.

Speaking of, this article is the only thing I have to do this week, so the sooner I bang this out, the sooner I can get back to my plans of doing absolutely nothing for the next 14 days.

1. I’ll say this about Pats/Ravens: it’s very rarely a snoozefest when these two teams meet. Baltimore used to be the one team you never wanted to see come into Gillette Stadium in January, and some of the all-time great games in league history have featured the Patriots squaring off against the Ravens.
2. And while last night’s game isn’t on par with some of the Brady vs. Flacco showdowns of yore—I still think about this pass way more often than any sane human being ever should—it was a memorable outing that served as a nice reminder of how much more enjoyable this festive time of year is when the Patriots are playing meaningful football in December.
3. And as an early Festivus gift, the Patriots were able to not only punch their ticket to the postseason, they were able to do it on the road, in primetime, against a team that needed that game way more than New England did, with a 4th quarter comeback that notched Drake Maye is first career 300+ yard game and put the Baltimore Ravens’ playoff hopes on life support. If I were to turn this Fan Note into that awful, awful song “The 12 Days of Christmas,” I just knocked off seven glorious days right there.
4. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is still the worst thing that has ever happened to the holiday season, in my opinion, but even I can acknowledge that there are a ton of people who consider that statement fightin’ words. I don’t know a single person that actually gets excitied when “The 12 Days of Christmas”s comes up on the playlist. We all listen long enough to drunkenly belt out “Fiiiiiive Golden Riiiiiiiings!” once, maybe twice tops, and then we press that skip button. You can take your leaping lords and milking maids and swimming swans and all of the other gifts that would all be valid cause for divorce if actually given to your true love and shove them.
5. What I like most about this game is that it once again hammered home what becomes more and more obvious with each passing week: the whole AFC kind of stinks this year. The Patriots looked downright awful at times last night, and they’re a team that can lose to anyone. But they also looked like an absolute wagon at times last night, and they’re a team that can beat anyone.
6. But nobody—and I mean nobody—knows how to beat the Baltimore Ravens better than the Baltimore Ravens. Against a Patriots team that can’t stop the run, with a rhinoceros poorly disguised as a human being in the backfield averaging seven yards per carry, Baltimore decided to keep Derrick Henry on the sideline for much of the 2nd half in favor of stretch runs and short pass plays with the backup QB. An 11-point 4th quarter lead should always be enough if you have Henry as your RB.
7. But acknowledging lousy coaching and questionable playcalling by Baltimore should not, and does not, take away from what the Patriots were able to do last night, in a game that saw multiple key starters out and multiple more drop as the game went on. Back-to-back late drives of 73 and 89 yards that surround holding Baltimore to just 13 yards on six plays is exactly what you want to see from a team that has struggled to protect leads and close out games all year, and the way they went about it was, in a lot of ways, very similar to the drive that gave New England their first lead in the 2014 Divisional Game all those years ago. Short, high-percentage plays to draw the defense up before taking deep shots with a perfectly thrown ball right on the numbers to a receiver who is currently averaging 27 yards per reception.
8. Let’s talk a bit more about Kyle Williams. He has for sure been slow to develop this year in what has become a fairly crowded wide receiver room, and in an offense that doesn’t run a ton of 3 or 4WR packages. But when he has seen the field, his speed and potential have been on full display. Last night’s TD catch was his third on the season, and it was eerily similar to his 2nd TD grab against the Giants a few weeks back: a tough to gauge, over-the-shoulder sideline ball where he has to navigate the sideline, the defender, the ball trajectory, and his foot placement all at once. He’s turning into a home run threat in real time, and while he still has a lot to learn in terms of situational awareness, spacing, and route running, it’s hard not to be excited about him.
9. Of course, it’s a lot easier to catch those passes when they couldn’t be more perfectly placed if Drake Maye had called a Zack Morris-style Time Out, walked the ball 37 yards, suspended it mid-air exactly where he wanted it to go, then called Time In.
10. Is there a better deep ball thrower in the NFL right now than Drake Maye? I don’t want to get too homerish, so I’m willing to listen to all arguments.
11. And that’s not even mentioning the 50+ yard bomb that, had the ball had black paint on the tip, would have completely filled in the hole in the middle of the 9 on Boutte’s jersey. That one fell incomplete because Boutte was straight up tackled before the ball got there, and even so Boutte should have caught it, but it’s yet another example of how far this team has come. In 2021, anything longer than third and six or so was almost a guaranteed punt. It could be 3rd and 20 in 2025 and I go into the down thinking the Pats have a shot to convert.
12. The single most egregious DPI no-call in NFL history is, and likely always will be, the one that took place in the 2018 NFC Championship between the Saints and Rams. Robey-Coleman committed DPI, unnecessary roughness, illegal contact, and possibly even targeting all on the same play, maybe 10 feet from the ref, and there was no flag thrown. That non-call almost certainly cost Drew Brees the chance to play in one last Super Bowl. We could have had Brady vs. Brees in that game. Nothing will ever top that. But last night’s no-call is in the ballpark, I’ll say that. Between the early contact, the arms wrapped around the waist, the full-on tackle, and what appears to be the attempt to pants Boutte and show the world Boutte’s booty, I just can’t fathom how you don’t throw the flag there.
13. Though I’m glad they didn’t, because this was a rare case where bad officiating worked in New England’s favor. It kept more time on the clock and allowed them to chip valuable seconds away as they drove down the field.
14. And even weirder, I just kind of knew that the Patriots were going to score on that last drive. They needed every able body on the roster to do it, but Maye slowly figured out the Zach Orr disguised pressure scheme that was giving him fits early in the game, and by the middle of the 3rd or so he was staying strong in the pocket, resigned to the week of ice baths he was going to need after this one, and delivering dimes just before taking big hits.
15. If the little gift behind the December 22nd door on my advent calendar was the ability to go back in time and grant Stefon Diggs the ability to have any kind of season you’d want him to, I’m not sure what I’d change. He hasn’t gone for 175 yards per game, but he hasn’t needed to. It’s very obvious, and has been for some time, that Diggs is who Maye looks to when there’s a play that must be made. If the game is on the line, Diggs is getting the ball. And the odds of him making the play are pretty damn high. When Diggs isn’t hauling in contested catches and putting the Patriots in scoring position, he’s on the sidelines getting guys fired up. This is the guy no other team wanted to sign, on the wrong side of 30 and coming off a knee injury. He straight-up jailbroke his way out of the blue tent because his team needed him out there. Every time I think that the 2025 Patriots can’t get any more likable, they go and do something like this.
16. I’m absolutely amazed that there isn’t a supercut on YouTube of every single Chris Collinsworth “oh-ho-hooo!” laugh/grunt/dry heave thing he does after a big play. I counted at least six last night alone.
17. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Zay Flowers got the better of Gonzo last night, but I also wouldn’t say that Gonzo got the better of Flowers.
18. I really hope that the return of Spillane and Williams fixes whatever is ailing this defense in terms of stopping the run. My gratitude to John Harbaugh for sidelining Henry for most of the 2nd half aside, there are some strong rush attacks coming down the pike, and cold weather playoff games are won on the ground. I’m just glad that the odds of having to face Henry again this year are slim.
19. Overall, though, the defense stepped up when it needed to. I had completely forgotten that Anfernee Jennings was on the team until last night when he registered the team’s only sack. There were no plays longer than 23 yards. And the defensive play of the game, the K’Lavon Chaisson strip that more or less iced it. That play is going to be showing on loop over at 1 Patriot Place for the rest of the season. It’s the Vike Vrabel mindset in every way. Chaisson rushed the passer. He didn’t get there and the ball moves behind him. He turns, runs full bore, takes advantage of a beautiful Dell Pettus angle we never once saw during Brandon Merriweather’s entire tenure in New England, and chases Flowers down from behind with the punch out. There are always 11 jerseys flying to the ball at all times. They have their issues, but effort has never been one of them.
20. What would have happened if the 2024 Patriots had the ball at the Baltimore 36, up four with 1:48 to play, and the Ravens had all three timeouts? Three runs up the gut, Joey Slye misses the FG attempt, then Baltimore drives down and scores? Two rushing attempts, a 12-yard sack, Patriots are forced to punt, then Baltimore drives down and scores? A fumbled snap, Baltimore recovers, then drives down and scores? Whatever it is, it’s not an RPO QB keeper for 16 yards on the heels of some Mondre Bully Ball, I can tell you that.
21. I acknowledge that the Patriots tried a fake punt. I acknowledge that it did not quite go according to plan. Now let’s never speak of it again.
22. And last, of course, a very Merry Christmas to you and yours this Thursday. Even if you don’t celebrate the holiday, I hope you have a great week and get a chance to relax as the world semi-shuts down for a few days. And for those who do celebrate, I’m sure you’ll all join me in hoping that Santa doesn’t have time to check his list twice this year.
    
    Neither the Jets nor the Dolphins have a viable QB right now. Denver lost yesterday and close out the year with the Chargers in a game that LA is likely going to need. Buffalo is hosting an Eagles team that needs to win out for any hope of the 1 seed. I mean it when I say that we should all get some rest this week, it’s going to ge absolutely wild around here very soon.