Atlanta Falcons vs New England Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- — With his team watching as its lead whittled away late in the fourth quarter, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel knew he had to say something. “I told our offense that we were going to need one drive to win the football game," Vrabel said. “And that’s all that’s going to matter.” He just wasn’t sure if it would be a five-minute drive or a two-minute drive. “It wound up being a five-minute drive,” Vrabel said. “They executed.” Drake Maye threw two touchdown passes and had a pair of turnovers in an uneven performance, and New England held on for its sixth straight victory, 24-23 over Atlanta on Sunday after Parker Romo missed a potential tying extra point for the Falcons. Terrell Jennings had his first career rushing touchdown for the Patriots (7-2). DeMario Douglas had four catches for 100 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. New England led 24-17 in the fourth quarter when Michael Penix Jr. connected with Drake London for a 40-yard gain along the sideline with Christian Gonzalez in coverage. Gonzalez left with a head injury on the play after being landed on the play, leaving the Patriots without their best cornerback with the Falcons in the red zone. The Patriots forced a fourth-and-goal on the 8, but London outstretched Carlton Davis III on a jump ball for a toe-tapping touchdown to get the Falcons within a point. But Romo’s extra point attempt missed wide right. New England went three-and-out on its next possession, giving the ball back to Atlanta with 3:30 remaining. The Falcons (3-5) drove to the Patriots 48 before an intentional grounding penalty on Penix pushed them back and forced them to punt. Falcons coach Raheem Morris said the Patriots clapped their hands to simulate Penix's snap call on the play he was called for grounding. It forced center Ryan Neuzil to snap the ball early. "Nice job by those guys. Great situational football," Morris said. “He wasn't ready for the snap.” New England faced another third down, but this time Maye completed a pass to Hunter Henry for a 17-yard gain that allowed the Patriots to run out the clock. Maye finished 19 of 29 for 259 yards, but was sacked six times. He also had an interception and was strip-sacked just before halftime to set up a touchdown by Atlanta. Still, he walked off the field confident his teammates that his team was happy, but not satisfied. “Doesn’t matter if it’s 24-23 or 3-2," Maye said. “You can feel in that locker room that guys know we can play better.” The Falcons have lost their last eight meetings with the Patriots. Atlanta hasn’t won in Foxborough since 1998. Penix passed for three touchdowns and finished 22 of 37 for 222 yards. Bijan Robinson rushed 12 times for 46 yards as the Falcons dropped to 0-5 when he rushes for fewer than 75. New England remains the only team in the NFL this season not to allow 50 yards rushing to a running back through nine games. “We’re going to learn from winning so that we don’t have to learn from losing,” Vrabel said. Injuries Falcons: LG Matthew Bergeron left in the first quarter (ankle). ... Edge rusher Leonard Floyd exited in the second with a hamstring injury. Patriots: WR Kayshon Boutte was ruled out after leaving in the second quarter with a hamstring issue. ... LB Christian Elliss left in the second with a hip injury. ... Gonzalez didn’t return after his head injury. He said afterward that he was put through the concussion protocol, but was cleared. Early action Despite missing running back Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots tried to establish the run at the outset by employing multiple tight end sets to the ball on early downs. It helped open the field for Maye and the passing attack. First, Maye connected on a fade to Douglas for a 16-yard touchdown pass on the Patriots’ opening drive. With the game tied at 7 in the second quarter, Maye linked up with Douglas again, this time finding him near the sideline on a post route. Douglas stumbled initially after pulling in the ball, then evaded a few tacklers before falling to the turf after a 58-yard gain to set the Patriots up in the red zone. Maye found Stefon Diggs two plays later for an 11-yard TD pass to stretch New England’s lead to 14 points. But a Patriots miscue helped the Falcons get it back to single digits just before halftime. The Patriots had the ball near midfield with 32 seconds remaining when Maye was strip-sacked by Jalon Walker. The ball was recovered by James Pearce Jr. who returned it to the Patriots 6 before being dragged down by Will Campbell. Atlanta scored two plays later via a 2-yard touchdown pass from Penix to London. Up next Falcons: Plays Indianapolis in Berlin next Sunday. Patriots: At Tampa Bay next Sunday. ------ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl