"We talked about bringing a belief in our identity. Believing that under any circumstances we were going to win a football game – that's what we talked about before we left. We said we needed to pack two things. We needed to pack our belief and our identity. I feel like we did."
Yes, Mike Vrabel, your team did that in Baltimore, as it has all season. That’s not to say it was perfect, because of course it wasn’t. But the Patriots continue to find ways to win, be it big, small, or somewhere in between. It's been a minute since the Patriots have been that team.
On to Musings...
NICE LIST
The tape revealed this wasn’t the best game of Drake Maye’s season (a few too many turnover-worthy plays), but it was still pretty damn good. After struggling against man coverage in recent weeks, the second-year pro chewed it up like a hungry man at the buffet. He challenged the Ravens' secondary by not only pushing the ball down the field but also attacking the intermediate areas with accuracy and touch. Maye had that going all evening, but took it to a higher level in the final quarter (12-of-14, 139 yards).
You could tell this meant a little more to Stefon Diggs from his very first reception. Maybe it was the talk of December Diggs, or maybe it was just being in primetime again, but the 32-year-old played like he was in the prime of his career. A pair of explosives, a critical 4th down conversion, and an infectious energy led to his best outing since week five in Buffalo. Diggs skillfully navigated zone (6 catches) but also made the Ravens pay in man (3 catches, 63 yards). Put this version of the wideout on ice until January.
Maybe I should have just included
