By R.L. Bynum
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye added more highlight-reel plays and gave New England a shot at pulling the upset at Buffalo on a Sunday when Josh Downs scored his fifth touchdown of the season, and Michael Carter finally made his season debut.
After completing 22 of 36 passes for two touchdowns with one interception in the Patriots’ 24–21 loss to the Bills, Maye came to the defense of New England coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
“Just trying to block out that noise,” Maye said in the postgame press conference. “I think it’s a bunch of conversations about our coaching staff and stuff like that. I think it’s some B.S., to be quite honest. Coach Mayo, like I said, we got his back, and he coaches hard. He wants to win. We all want to win. We’re all frustrated.
“AVP has been calling great [plays] the past weeks — we’re just plays away. And especially me turning the ball over, I think it’s just a testament to these guys to keep fighting. We keep fighting.”
Maye and the Patriots’ offense struggled in the second half, committing three turnovers after taking a 14–7 halftime lead.
“When you lose, it’s tough to kind of think about the positives,” Maye said. “It’s so frustrating, and I’ve got to hold myself back from some anger. At some point, it turns from disappointment to just kind of — you’re getting real frustrated. … I’m so proud of the guys. And Coach Mayo said that at the end of tonight’s breakdown, he said he was proud of us, but at the same time, it’s not where we want to be.”
In the first three minutes of the game, Maye made an excellent throw and Kayshon Boutte made an outstanding catch on a 28-yard touchdown pass to give New England an early lead. Maye cut the lead to three with 1:13 left in the game when he connected with H. Henry on a 9-yard touchdown pass, but the Patriots’ onside kick attempt failed.
While Maye is playing well, New England is 3–12, which clouds the positives in his mind for his season so far.
“We’re not gonna make the playoffs; we’re out of the race,” Maye said. “And these guys are coming in, and we’re frustrated [when] we don’t score, and they’ve got energy in practice, and they’ve got energy coming into the game.
“We want to win,” Maye said. “There’s guys not even playing it that are yelling on the sidelines and want to win. I think we’re building something good, building something that feels right here. And I’m proud to be a Patriot.”
For the Bills, Mack Hollins had two catches for 25 yards, including a 13-yard reception, and quarterback Mitch Trubisky didn’t play.
Late in the first half of the Colts’ 38–30 home win over Tennessee, Downs took a short pass behind the line of scrimmage from quarterback Anthony Richardson, fended off a defender and tight-roped down the right sideline for a 27-yard scoring play.
That was one of three catches for 61 yards to give Downs, who didn’t start, his fifth score of the season.
Linebacker Cedric Gray had an outstanding game off the bench for the Titans, with six tackles and four assists. This was his first game with either a tackle or an assist outside of special teams this season.
After spending all season on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad, Michael Carter made his season debut at Charlotte in their 36–30 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers. He had five carries for 18 yards and five catches on five targets.
In Washington’s 36–33 home win over Philadelphia, Dyami Brown had four catches on five targets for 56 yards, including a season-long 51-yard reception. On a play deep in Washington territory, Brown ran under a nice throw from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Brown, who came out of the game with a hamstring injury, was part of some controversy when he shoved the Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson, knocking his helmet off. There was no penalty on Brown but Gardner-Johnson got ejected for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
In Denver’s 34–27 Thursday road win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Javonte Williams came off the bench to get four carries for 24 yards (including a 15-yard gain) and catch seven of 11 passes targeted to him for 29 yards (including a 12-yard reception.)
Ty Chandler had a kickoff return for 20 yards in Minnesota’s 27–24 win at Seattle. Quarterback Sam Howell didn’t play for the Seahawks.
Storm Duck recorded two tackles and an assist for Miami in the Dolphins 29–17 home win over San Francisco.
Mike Hughes had two tackles and four assists and defended two passes in Atlanta’s 34–7 home win over the New York Giants. Linebacker Tomon Fox had two assists for the Giants, while offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu played two offensive snaps and two special-teams snaps.
M.J. Stewart had one assist on punt coverage in Houston’s 27–19 loss at Kansas City, playing 20 of 21 snaps on special teams.
Amari Gainer played 23 special-teams snaps for Las Vegas in the Raiders’ 19–14 home win over Jacksonville.
Chazz Surratt played five defensive snaps and eight special-teams snaps in the New York Jets’ 19–19 home loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Tez Walker played nine offensive snaps and 21 special-teams snaps in Baltimore’s 34–17 home win over Pittsburgh and downed a punt.
Dyami Brown, Washington Commanders wide receiver
Age 24 | 6–0, 195 | 4th NFL season | UNC 2018–20
Roster situation — Second-string wide receiver
Season statistics — 15 games, 27 catches, 292 yards (51 longest), 10.8 average, 1 TD; 2 carries, 18 yards (14 longest)
36–33 win vs. Philadelphia — Started; 4 catches on 5 targets, 56 yards (51 longest); 45 offensive snaps (66%)
Week 17 — 8:20 Sunday vs. Atlanta, NBC, Peacock
Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals running back
Age 25 | 5–8, 201 | fourth NFL season | UNC 2017–20
Roster situation — Fourth-string running back
36–30 OT loss at Carolina (season debut) — 5 carries, 18 yards (6 longest); 5 catches on 5 targets, 30 yards (18 longest); 25 offensive snaps (36%)
Week 17 — 8 p.m. Satuday at Los Angeles Chargers, NFL Network
Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings running back
Age 26 | 5–11, 204 | 3rd NFL season | UNC 2021
Roster situation — First-string kick returner behind Kene Nwangwu; second-string running back behind Aaron Jones
Season statistics — 15 games, 51 rushes, 175 yards (25 longest); 6 catches, 42 yards (10 longest); 6 kick returns, 157 yards; sacked once for a 1-yard loss; 3 special-teams tackles, 1 special-teams assist
27–24 win at Seattle — 1 kickoff return, 20 yards; 1 tackle on punt coverage; 12 special-teams snaps (36%)
Week 17 — 1 p.m. Sunday vs. Green Bay, Fox
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver
Age 23 | 5–9, 171 | 2nd NFL season | UNC 2020–22
Roster situation — Starting slot wide receiver ahead of Anthony Gould
Season statistics — 12 games, 59 catches, 687 yards (69 longest), 5 TDs; 1 carry, 12 yards; 16 punt returns, 161 yards (23 longest); 1 tackle; 1 fumble recovery
38–30 win vs. Tennessee — Didn’t start; 3 catches on 4 targets, 61 yards (31 longest), 1 TD; 36 offensive snaps (58%)
Week 17 — 1 p.m. Sunday at New York Giants, Fox
Storm Duck, Miami Dolphins cornerback
Age 23 | 6–0, 195 | rookie NFL season | UNC 2019–22
Roster situation — Third-string right cornerback
Season statistics — 10 games, 14 tackles, 7 assists, 2 tackles for losses, 1 pass defended, 2 tackles on kickoff coverage
29–17 win vs. San Francisco — 2 tackles, 1 assist; 13 defensive snaps(20%), 14 special-teams snaps (54%)
Week 17 — 4:05 Sunday at Cleveland, CBS
Joshua Ezeudu, New York Giants offensive lineman
Age 25 | 6–4, 310 | 3rd NFL season | UNC 2016–21
Roster situation — Starting left tackle
Season statistics — 14 games, 145 offensive snaps, 41 special-teams snaps