Four Studs, Four Duds From Patriots’ Gritty Win Over Ravens

The New England Patriots got back in the win column in Week 16, as they picked up a 28-24 comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. It wasn’t always pretty, but there’s no doubt that this was the most important victory of the year for the Patriots.

With this win, New England officially punched its ticket to the postseason, but there is still a lot of work to be done over the final two games of the regular season. Before we flip the page to Week 17, though, let’s look back at the action from this win over the Ravens and pick out four studs and four duds.

Studs

Drake Maye

There were mistakes from Drake Maye in this one, as a pair of turnovers likely took at least six points off the board for the Pats. When he had to deliver the goods in the fourth quarter, though, he led a pair of touchdown drives to give his team the lead. And, he finally eclipsed the 300-yard mark in the air (31/44, 380 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 10 CAR, 25 YDS).

Stefon Diggs

When the lights are at their brightest, Stefon Diggs finds a way to take his game to another level. After a couple of quiet weeks, Diggs turned in a performance eerily similar to his outing against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, as he led all receivers in this game in both receptions (nine) and receiving yards (138).

K’Lavon Chaisson

It was another tough week overall for the Patriots’ front seven on defense, but when the unit needed a big play, it was K’Lavon Chaisson who stepped up. Chaisson forced a fumble from Zay Flowers that would allow the offense to ice the game, and he also had a big tackle for loss earlier in the game to help slow down the Ravens’ high-powered rushing attack.

Jaylinn Hawkins

Earlier in the game, Jaylinn Hawkins forced a fumble from Derrick Henry, which prevented things from getting out of hand early. Hawkins did a little bit of everything in this one, as he finished with seven tackles, while also applying some pressure on blitzes from time to time, as he also nabbed a quarterback hit along the way.

Duds

Kayshon Boutte

Several guys stepped up for Maye in the passing game, but Kayshon Boutte was not one of them. He failed to fight back to the football on the play that led to Marlon Humphrey’s interception, and he had a crucial drop on a deep bomb from Maye early on the team’s final scoring drive (even if a blatant pass interference call was missed on this play).

Jeremy Springer

The Patriots’ special teams coordinator, Jeremy Springer, did not have his best night in this one. His decision to call a fake punt on 4th & 10 from the team’s own 44-yard line was moronic, as it put the Ravens in a great position to score their third touchdown of the day. Let’s just say Springer is lucky New England came back to win this game.

Christian Gonzalez

New England’s superstar cornerback Christian Gonzalez endured perhaps his worst outing of the season. Matched up with Flowers for most of the night, his speed got the best of Gonzalez on several occasions, as he finished the game with seven catches for 84 yards, most of which came against the All-Pro corner.

Vederian Lowe

Maye faced a ton of pressure in the second half from Baltimore’s defensive front, and while the offensive line did well to limit the damage, this was not a great game for Vederian Lowe. For the most part, Lowe has held his own while filling in for Will Campbell, but this outing showed just how badly the team needs the star rookie back on the field.