5 takeaways from the Patriots’ season-ending win over the Bills
Final thoughts from the New England Patriots’ season finale against the Buffalo Bills.
The New England Patriots’ 2024 season came to an end on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Even though they came in with a 3-13 record, the team still managed to make headlines with its final performance – before it made bigger headlines just about an hour later by firing first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.
Coming into the game the Patriots were positioned to have the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A loss would secure that selection. With that premium asset dangling out there, the question all week was how competitive the Patriots would try to be in this game.
Most of the starters came out early, yet the backups put up one of the better efforts we saw from this team this year. With rookie sixth-round pick Joe Milton III making his NFL debut, the team scrapped its way to a 23-16 win.
That being said, the visiting Buffalo Bills also seemed cognizant of the potential windfall awaiting their division rival. Buffalo played this game overly conservative at times, including late runs while trailing and punting down four with three and a half minutes to play. In the end, the Patriots got a couple of fourth-down stops to ice the game.
The impact? It’s mainly on the Patriots’ draft haul. With the win they dropped from the first spot in the first round to the fourth, and also moved down two spots from where they would have been in the second and third rounds as well.
While most of the fallout from Sunday will relate to the Patriots’ coaching change and their fall in the draft order, let’s take one last look at this game and put a wrap on the 2024 season with one last game takeaways…
The quarterback plan
Roster-wise, the biggest question facing the Patriots heading into this game was how much – if at all – starting quarterback Drake Maye would play. On top of the Patriots trying to angle for a better draft pick, risking Maye suffering an injury could also be a factor.
Buffalo set the stage for the quarterback usage. Having already locked up their playoff seed, the Bills put Josh Allen out for one play to hand the ball off and extend his games started streak, then pulled him for backup Mitch Trubisky.
While the Patriots’ play wasn’t the same, it was similar. Their first series was a run, incomplete pass, and a sack. That sack proved to be the final play of Maye’s season, as he didn’t return to the game. He finished his rookie year making 12 starts, completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards at 6.8 yards per attempt. In total Maye threw for 15 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, and added another 421 yards and two more scores on the ground.
Maye checked out and gave way to fellow rookie Joe Milton III, who was active for the first time this season. Last time we saw Milton was in the preseason, when he made some impressive individual throws but did so with little consistency.
Sunday, Milton showed great improvement in his technique and accuracy (traits independent of the opposition, which was mostly backups), which led to more consistency. He completed 11 passes in a row to start the game. In total he was 22-of-29 for 241 yards and a touchdown (with another rushing).
The eye-popping plays that are all over Milton’s college tape still showed up, but it was his ability to march down the field that was the biggest surprise. He showed significant progress from where he was when he first arrived in Foxborough back in May.
With Jacoby Brissett a pending free agent, the Patriots will need a new backup quarterback next year. Milton certainly made a strong case for that role on Sunday. It’s also possible he got the attention of teams around the league, and it will e interesting to see if his name comes up in trade rumors this offseason.
Kayshon Boutte closes strong
The Patriots’ leading receiver in this game was Kayshon Boutte. The second-year wideout caught seven passes for 117 yards and a score. That makes him the first Patriots wide receiver with over 100 yards in a game since Kendrick Bourne in Week 16 of 2022.
Boutte closed out what was a very up-and-down season on a high note. Coming into the year, consistency was the biggest question facing the sixth-round pick heading into his second season. There’s still room to grow, but he does look the part of a rotational NFL receiver. Assuming the Patriots’ upgrade the top of their wide receiver depth chart, he could be more efficient in a depth role next year.
Still limited look for rookie lineman
Despite being designated to return from IR on Dec. 9, rookie tackle Caedan Wallace never made a start for the Patriots after returning from his early season ankle injury. The Patriots elected to stick with their prior starting offensive line to begin this game, with Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle and Vederian Lowe at left tackle.
While the Patriots didn’t get an extended look at Wallace – who as a third round pick should be a candidate for a starting role in the near future – he did come in later in the game for the second week in a row. Penalties were a problem as he got called for three holds.
Meanwhile, Wallace entering the game saw Jacobs move from right tackle to the left side. He also had his issues in this game, but the Patriots did get a look at him as a potential swing tackle candidate in the future.
Ultimately though, the sample size is just two small from both players to make many major determinations. The Patriots go into the offseason with questions at both tackle spots, both in terms of starters and potentially backups.
Young cornerbacks get their chances
The Patriots had a number of young cornerbacks on their roster this year that were buried on the depth chart and didn’t get much time on the field. Some of those players got to play for extended stretches on Sunday.
Both Isaiah Bolden and Marcellas Dial got considerable time on defense on Sunday. Each player had their high points in this game. Battle in particular broke up three passes, and made a great touchdown-saving tackle near the goal line. Those plays should work in his favor in his end-of-year evaluation with the team.
Jahlani Tavai temporarily benched
Linebacker Jahlani Tavai made waves in the week leading up to this game, telling fans they need to ‘know their place’ in response to booing of Jerod Mayo. While Mayo said this week the issue was handled ‘in house,’ the repercussions may have been on full display on Sunday.
Tavai – who was the Patriots’ leading tackler this season and has played a key role on defense – did not play a single snap in the first quarter. He returned to the field for the first play of the second, and remained on the field until the majority of starters were pulled later in the game.
Postgame, Mayo didn’t give much information on Tavai’s usage. When asked if it was disciplinary, he replied “we went into the game with a plan and went out there and executed.” Pressed further, he responded “those things are internal, and I’d rather keep it that way” when discussing both Tavai and Drake Maye’s usage.
Tavai himself didn’t comment on the issue either. Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald shared that Tavai told him after the game “that’s between me and the higher-ups and coaches. That’s in-house.”
