FOXBOROUGH - Stefon Diggs is a showman. He doesn't just know where the camera is; he plays to it. So when the veteran wideout was stopped a couple of yards short of the end zone midway through the third quarter, he stayed on the ground. There had been a big collision around him. Was Diggs hurt?
"Nah, I wasn't hurt," he told me. "I just couldn't believe how close I was and didn't get in."
On the very next play, the Pats called his number again. This time, there was no frustration. Just an exuberant, choreographed celebration. Then he jumped on Drake Maye's head and nearly knocked the quarterback off his feet.
"It was obviously a lot of fun," Diggs recalled. "It was something that we planned for a little while now, a couple of weeks. The guys (have) been trying to get me into the end zone. Things kind of shook out this game. It was obviously something exciting, something that we all enjoyed. I felt like, as a first one, you know, my first one here, we all should celebrate together."
It was a moment, no doubt. One that has played out for Diggs at previous stops in Minnesota and Buffalo, and even last year in Houston. That's never been the problem. The problem - at least in his longest two tenures - is that eventually, he wears out his welcome. But the honeymoon stage is always memorable, and this has been no different.
"I think I was happier than him," Kayshon Boutte said. "If you look back at the film, I ran from the right side to the left. Two plays before, we were at the goal line, and he was 1 yard away. I think it happened like that at Buffalo, too, just a couple of yards away. Great player, great guy. I love him, I think it was good for everybody."
"He's a great teammate," Mike Vrabel said. "He's been really good for that position and some of the younger guys' development. So, I'm happy to be able to get him in the end zone. It was long overdue."
Despite being one of the league's best receivers for at least a handful of years, Diggs' leadership hasn't always played well. You can't berate your quarterback on the sideline of a playoff game and think that's beneficial to anyone. But the 31-year-old is either finding the right line to walk, or trying to. That was evident in a video taken during this weekend's game (and released by the team), when offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was mic'd up.
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β New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 29, 2025
"He ain't tell me he was mic'd up. That's the last time I talk to him," Diggs joked, adding, "I consider myself one of the leaders. ... I'm just trying to be another beacon out there, another guy that can echo whatever it is - whether we start fast, urgency, getting out of the huddle, details, just those small tidbits that kind of keep us on the right track. That's what I'm trying to do."
Vrabe acknowledged that publicly earlier this week.
"Really enjoyed being around him every day, his energy, communication, his willingness to learn and play, and figure out what it is that we need from him each and every week," he said. "There's been an energy. He's practiced when we needed him to practice, and we're going to have to start taking care of some these veteran guys, whether that's him or Morgan (Moses) or Hunter (Henry_ and a lot of these other guys as we move on towards the season, but highly competitive. He's vocal. He cares."
Diggs is coming off his quietest day in New England with just three catches for 14 yards. It's the second time in three weeks that he's been held to three receptions. Diggs popped up on the injury report with a chest injury in recent weeks, and now he's dealing with an ankle issue. Perhaps that's why Vrabel felt the need to reference "taking care" of some of the vets (Diggs has played only at 54% of the offensive snaps).
A deeper dive into Diggs' numbers shows that he has been most efficient against man coverage this season, catching 14 of 16 targets for 195 yards. That's good for almost 14 yards per reception.
But there was a decided lack of separation versus the Browns and their press-man philosophy, which speaks to the lack of juice I wrote about earlier in the week. Diggs' average depth of target has also fallen off over the last three weeks. It's too early to make grand judgments about these trends - especially with Boutte firmly establishing himself as the team's deep threat. However, it bears watching against another team, Atlanta, which will play plenty of man-to-man defense and has one cornerback, A.J. Terrell, who is one of the stickier players in the league. Do the Falcons think Diggs warrants special attention on money downs? Or will they treat him like he's just one of the guys, and can he take advantage of it?
"You can see on tape that they got some players in the back end that play extremely well," Diggs said. "So, just stacking another week. It's gonna be more about us. You know, we kind of learn week to week that it's about us, and being on the details. And I feel like we still haven't played our best ball yet, but we got a lot to look forward to."