Our offseason countdown continues with the Number 9 Best Patriots Moment of 2024.
It’s been a wild week here at Patriots Nation, as New England has been extremely active in Free Agency. There are still a few more players to bring in, of course, but the Free Agency dust seems to have mostly settled, and so let’s get back to our countdown of the Top 10 Patriots Moments of 2024.
Plus, my March Madness bracket is already destroyed, so I may as well reminisce on another good Patriots moment.
The list so far:
10. Jerod Mayo out, Mike Vrabel in.
At Number 9, I get to give some love to not only a massive bright spot for 2024, but a franchise cornerstone for the foreseeable future.
9. Drake Maye hits Austin Hooper for a 38-yard TD on 4th-and-15 against the Miami Dolphins.
One of the worst games of the entire 2024 season was the first matchup between Miami and New England, where QB stud Tyler Huntley went 18 of 31 for 194 yards and a pick en route to a 15-10 victory over the Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots. It was a game we all thought that the Patriots would win, as they were at home against a third-string quarterback – but as we all learned the hard way over and over last season, there was no limit to New England’s suckitude.
The second matchup between these two squads didn’t fare much better, as a healthy Tua Tagovailoa carved the Patriots up with 317 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-15 victory that wasn’t even as close as the score dictates. It was 31-0 through the first three quarters, and up until that point the Patriots had only put together two drives of more than four plays. Gillette Stadium started to empty out. No point hanging around for the rest of the drubbing.
What the early leavers ended up missing was one of the several moments that have Patriots fans excited for 2025 and beyond, as the ensuing drive following Miami’s last touchdown of the day more or less encapsulated the entire season.
After a 30-yard kickoff return, Drake Maye hit Pop Douglas for 20 yards, then Hunter Henry for 16 to set up a 1st and 10 at the Miami 38. A seven yard out to Austin Hooper to set up and 2nd and 3 was negated, and then some, Jaylen Ramsey came in completely unblocked to level Maye for a 12-yard sack. On 3rd-and-15, an OPI call was declined on an incomplete pass to set up 4th-and-15 at the Miami 38.
May as well go for it. No reason to attempt a 55-yard field goal down 31 points.
There isn’t a play in any NFL playbook that consistently works on 4th-and-15, so everyone pretty much ran either dummy crossers or Go Routes in hopes that someone got open with enough real estate in front of them to pick up the first or in a position where they could bring in a 50/50 deep pass. The problem with Go Routes, however, is that the receiver needs three to four seconds to get downfield, which Drake Maye definitively did not have behind this offensive line. Even though the Dolphins only rushed four, and an NFL Offensive Line consists of five men, the penetration was immediate and May had to start scrambling before he even set his feet to scan the field. He scurried out to his right, buying some time, and threw across his body on the run to a wide-open Austin Hooper, who caught the ball at the two-yard line and dove in for the score. As Maye broke the pocket, a bit of defensive miscommunication allowed Hooper to get behind the defense and sit uncovered in an open spot. It would have been a gimme throw for any quarterback who had some time to settle into the pocket and let the play develop.
But for a rookie quarterback to break into a run, scramble right, look downfield, see his man, and throw it on the run 40 yards down the field right between the numbers… that just isn’t something you see every day.
I’m well aware that a meaningless touchdown in a complete blowout game isn’t all that much of a highlight. Pretty much everything about that Dolphins game was a disaster. But some of the plays that Drake Maye made last season, with everything going against him, during his rookie season… it’s hard not to get fired up about that stuff. In a season filled with disappointment, Maye was a consistent bright spot for the team. And this was an amazing throw that showed perfect accuracy and wise-beyond-his-years vision. It’s the kind of stuff you very much hope to build on coming into the future. So even though the game stunk, I feel good putting it here at No. 9.
Check out the play here.