FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was critical of his performance in the team's 24-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday -- a game that revealed vulnerabilities for Maye and his teammates to address leading into a highly anticipated road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10.
"I've got to play better for this team down the road," Maye said after finishing 19-of-29 for 259 yards, with 2 touchdowns, 1 interception and 1 lost fumble. "It's tough in a game you win; you can feel in that locker room that these guys know we can play better."
Maye was hardest on himself for what unfolded late in the second quarter, with the Patriots holding a 21-7 lead and at midfield. There were 32 seconds remaining until halftime, and with the Patriots set to receive the opening kickoff of the second half, it was a prime opportunity to deliver a knockout punch.
Instead, the Falcons broke through the right side of the offensive line with guard Mike Onwenu slow to pick up stunting rusher Jalon Walker, and Maye compounded the error by giving himself up. That led to Walker knocking the ball out of his grasp, which fellow rookie James Pearce Jr. returned to the 6-yard line, and the Falcons scored a touchdown two plays later to slice the lead to 21-14.
"First thing I had to do is just tuck the ball to the chest. [I'm] getting in a bad habit of trying to break tackles on these guys that I don't have a great chance of breaking a tackle on," Maye explained.
Maye had been on a sizzling five-game stretch entering Sunday, which had his name mentioned among MVP candidates, and his knack for taking care of the football was part of the catalyst for that momentum. So the lost fumble against the Falcons, along with a third-quarter interception in which he wasn't on the same page with tight end Hunter Henry on a throw over the middle, were uncharacteristic miscues that Maye felt "changed the game."
Maye was sacked six times, and some of those were a result of him holding on to the ball. Last week, he was also sacked six times.
Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who caught a touchdown pass for the second week in a row, was among those lifting Maye up -- noting he helped finish off the game by completing a 17-yard catch-and-run play to Henry on third-and-5 so the Patriots could kneel on the ball.
"Chin up, chest out," Diggs said. "That s--- happens. Receivers aren't always perfect -- we're not always open, we're not always doing the right stuff -- so to be able to will to a win, I'll take that any day. I'm riding with Drake Maye. Things aren't going to be perfect, it's hard as s--- to play quarterback."
Diggs added: "Definitely an ugly win. A lot to learn from. But I'd rather learn from it in a winning position than losing. It's better when you win a game and you try to tighten up those loose screws."
Among the loose screws to tighten, according to coach Mike Vrabel, is red zone defense. The Falcons had three trips inside the red zone and scored three touchdowns.
"That's been our issue," Vrabel said, as the Patriots have allowed 15 touchdowns in 20 opponent trips inside the red zone (75%), worst in the NFL. "They made some good plays down there, but we've got to be better in the red zone."
Injuries also bear watching, with starting receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) and starting linebacker Christian Elliss (hip) not finishing the game. Starting cornerback Christian Gonzalez left the game in the fourth quarter to be checked for a concussion but said afterward that he was cleared to return to the game if the defense was called upon.
Summing up the day, Diggs said the 7-2 Patriots won't have to look far for motivation as they begin preparing to face the 6-2 Buccaneers.
"You know how [the game] went. Things didn't go perfect, and there was more out there for us," he said. "It's kind of like damn near a loss. It feels like a win, but you know you can be so much better. That's how you don't fall into that trap and stay hungry."