By Ted Nguyen, Dan Pompei and Jourdan Rodrigue Each Sunday, three of The Athletic’s NFL writers react to the biggest news, plays and performances from the day’s games. Week 4’s early slate didn’t have quite the dramatics we saw a week earlier, but there were some extreme turnarounds. A week after shutting out the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers were …
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However, the run defense was again leaky on Pittsburgh’s game-winning drive. As mentioned, the Pats aggressively shot the inside gaps against the Steelers zone schemes to penetrate the backfield. But, on the final drive, the aggressive approach backfired. Above, edge rusher Harold Landry crosses inside the right tackle on a third-and-2 zone run. The issue was that nobody replaced Landry …
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Jason McCourty saw a much-improved Drake Maye from the broadcast booth. McCourty, who played for both the Patriots and Dolphins during his 13-year career, was on the CBS broadcast when New England earned a 33-27 victory at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. “My main takeaway for the Patriots, this year you want to see the growth of Drake Maye,” McCourty …
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For example, the Dolphins tried to flood the sideline again, likely anticipated cover two, with two vertical routes paired with an out from the No. 3 receiver here. This time, the Pats play cover six, or quarter-quarter-half, where they have two defenders deep over the three-receiver side. The initial read isn’t there, so Tua is forced to hold the ball, …
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Drake Maye didn’t look like a quarterback with too much on his plate on this day. A week after floundering in the Patriots’ season-opening loss to Las Vegas, Maye turned the page and opened eyes. A week after throwing an interception, nearly losing a fumble, and missing several open receivers, this young quarterback showed he also …
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The New England Patriots found the win column in Miami for the first time since 2019 on Sunday, outlasting the Dolphins 33-27 in an eventful Week 2 showdown. Led by a strong performance by Drake Maye, New England also saw keys plays on a 90-yard kickoff return by Antonio Gibson and sack by Milton Williams to close things out. Here’s …
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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons started the week with concerns about the status of their top two wide receivers. They’ll end their week feeling confident about Drake London and Darnell Mooney’s availability on Sunday night when the take on the Minnesota Vikings. Mooney missed the Falcons’ season opener due to a shoulder injury he sustained on the first …
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Part of the reason the Patriots run game struggled was that the Raiders used unpredictable schemes, such as run stunts or blitzes, which prevented the Pats blockers from reaching the second level of the defense. On Thursday, McDaniels spoke about learning from the wrinkles the offense saw last week against Vegas. “They did some things that pinched us off from …
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There’s been plenty of discourse around Drake Maye since the Patriots dropped their season opener to the Raiders on Sunday. We’ll get into that some of that discourse in this week’s Mailbag, which featured a healthy serving of Maye-related questions. But we’re also turning the page to Miami, where the Patriots will travel this weekend to take on a Dolphins …
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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris expects wide receiver Drake London to play in Sunday’s Week 2 prime-time road game against the Minnesota Vikings. “That’s not saying that he is,” Morris said Wednesday. “But when you ask me, ‘Do I expect him to play?’ Of course. Drake is an ultimate tough guy, and when he says …
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