New England Patriots @ New Orleans Saints
Final Score: Patriots 25, Saints 19
Writer: Matthew Bevins (MattBQBList on Reddit)
The Patriots had a huge win coming out of last week’s game against their division rival and powerhouse the Buffalo Bills, firing off back-to-back wins and looking like Drake Maye may be blossoming into a potential top-10 quarterback before our eyes, outplaying Josh Allen and using poise and pocket presence to look better in a tight win. The QB matchup couldn’t be any more different in Week 6, as the team traveled to New Orleans to face Spencer Rattler and a team that is in the midst of a fundamental change, as rumors are swirling that Alvin Kamara could be on the move before the trade deadline.
Three Up
- DeMario Douglas — The 2023 Liberty Flames wideout was the talk of the preseason last year, but finished the season with only 641 receiving yards. Douglas was an afterthought this preseason. However, he’s now becoming something of a name to remember. In this game, he had an amazing touchdown in the first quarter, and then lost a second touchdown on a pocket rollout by Drake Maye that ended with him catching Douglas in the middle of three or four confused defenders, one he causes to run by him into a spin move, then rushing an additional 15 yards to paydirt. The play was marked down by a Stefon Diggs hand move, but it was just another sign Douglas is close to taking off.
- Drake Maye — Maye doesn’t need more boosting after the past month, but after watching these regular-season games, it’s very apparent that the team is starting to pick up and become something of a force, and Maye is the center of all of it. Perfectly encapsulated to what Maye is, in the final Patriots drive of the first quarter, the entire line crumbled, and he’s stuck with a defensive envelope coming down on him. Moments from being hit, he looked to his right, saw TreVeyon Henderson, and pitched a perfect pass to his side to gain yards over a loss on a sack.
- Kayshon Boutte and Chris Olave — Boutte picked up where the Douglas touchdown drive was called back, garnering an additional touchdown catch over the middle on a contested pass where he muscled out the ball rolling to the ground, giving them a 14-point first quarter. While Olave is the butter by which the bread is covered in New Orleans, he’s a minimal move up on the list, if only because his ceiling is roughly where it stands, due to the current quarterback scenario. Rattler was solid this week, but there doesn’t seem to be much higher for them to go.
Three Down
- Rhamondre Stevenson — The experiment is over. Can we stop on this one? It seems like Rhamondre is seemingly unbreakable, able to wipe off any potential rushing issues with a single brush off. It was a frustrating but unnecessary need to get him out last season while Maye was learning and the team was destined for a first round out at best, but now we’re looking at a player who cannot break off huge rushes, constantly has a fumble a down ahead of him, and Sunday couldn’t get out of his own way, averaging under 2 yards per carry.
- Stefon Diggs — Diggs didn’t do anything to really push himself down this board Sunday. It was what was done around him that drops his value a tad. Diggs saw three receptions and an arm pushoff that pulled back a Douglas touchdown, but an offense that was continuously cycling out receivers before the season started may have too many weapons now, and Diggs is going to have to share with them more. The veteran on the offense will be the one to help, but may need to temper his expectations on the stat sheet from here on out.
- Saints’ backfield — Starting more as a tempered expectation for Alvin Kamara, it’s now noticeable that the entire backfield underdelivered, as the lone rushing touchdown came from full offensive weapon Taysom Hill, and the running backs combined for less than 55 rushing yards. While the Patriots seemed to have the script the entire game, the fact of the matter was the team wants to move on from Kamara, and Kendre Miller ain’t stealing the backfield as much as the coaching staff expected or wants. Do we just see a bunch more of Hill behind center?
New England Patriots
Quarterback
Drake Maye: 18/26, 261 Yards, 3 TDs | 9 carries, 28 yards
It’s not too early to be Saint Drake Maye for Halloween, is it? Maye ended the game with a 140.1 passer rating, and looks to have shaken off any butterflies that may have come from being the first quarterback New England fans looked to as a true Tom Brady heir apparent. Maye is doing things this team didn’t even see when Brady was in town, and the only thing that can be hoped for is that there is some form of consistency to this sort of play, as the Saints came in as one of the defenses that was rolling, and became quietly humbled in this matchup.
Maye made some eye-popping plays in this game, finding DeMario Douglas on two amazing passes in the first quarter, leading to one touchdown and one called-back touchdown, and then finished off the first quarter with his second touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte. Maye airs out the ball if need arises, and found Douglas on two deep passes (one on the horrific 61-yard pass interference call that you’ll be hearing about for days to come), but the fact remains that the team has decided to take their slot receiver and roll him out wide to attempt to build some larger-scale plays, sparing Diggs some playmaking on the day, and having Douglas and Boutte as their 1-2 combo for the day. It’s hard to be upset about it,as this was the best showing of Maye’s young career, and this past three-game stretch could be a huge turning point for one of the brightest stars in the game.
Running Back
Rhamondre Stevenson: 13 carries, 18 yards, 0 fumbles
TreVeyon Henderson: 9 carries, 27 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards
While the passing game was the darling of the game, it was in part and counter to the game that the rushers brought, as both backs combined for 45 rushing yards on 22 carries. Stevenson has had over a season’s worth of fumbling issues, and was able to stay sure-handed in this game, but it was the only bright spot you could take out of their running game. Henderson continues to be underutilized in the rushing and receiving game and was unable to carry the ball for any extended rushes. The leading rusher in the game was Maye, who carried the ball nine times for 28 yards. Henderson’s lone reception was on the aforementioned play when Maye was attempting to leave the pocket on a broken play, but otherwise the running game is going to continue to be a secondary choice, and it seems as if we may have to punt on Henderson and his potential until at the earliest maybe next season.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Kayshon Boutte: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 93 yards, 2 TDs
DeMario Douglas: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD
Stefon Diggs: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 28 yards
Hunter Henry: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 27 yards
Mack Hollins: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards
Austin Hooper: 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
Kyle Williams: 2 targets
The Patriots have an infectious wide receiver crew after years of drafting and missing on potential home run hitters. Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and N’Keal Harry for starters, but it seems like there finally may be some glimmers of hope in this wide receiver room. Just a quarter into the game, and we saw the potential of DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, and Boutte is doing his magic in even more significant playmaking roles, hitting stride on toe-tapping catches on the sideline, down the middle touchdown receptions where he’s pulling away the ball from defenders, or getting up for contested catches. While the team is benefiting from the veteran leadership of Stefon Diggs, it’s clear that the team is willing to finally put some faith in their youth and is being rewarded. Pushed out of the pocket, Maye was moving up the field and hit Boutte ahead of him in perfect stride, as Boutte wrestled the ball from the defender directly on him, converting the catch into a wonderful touchdown reception.
Drake Maye to Kayshon Boutte for the Patriots TD!
— NFL Daily News (@fantasynflnews.bsky.social) 2025-10-12T17:42:40.058Z
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
Spencer Rattler: 20/26, 227 Yards | 4 carries, 20 yards
Spencer Rattler is not an NFL top-10 quarterback by any stretch of the imagination, but he was able to mostly compete with Maye and was actively pushing the ball out at under 3 seconds per play in the entire first half of the game. The Saints ultimately have decided to move on from the offensive attack of yesterday, and Rattler is auditioning to see if he could hold any value to the next squad. What can be found here is that Rattler was able to avoid a large amount of trouble in a suddenly difficult matchup against the Patriots’ defensive front, able to produce 227 yards of passing, only ending the game with two sacks and no interceptions.
Rattler is not the one this team will have starting behind center next year, but the team is not looking to outright overhaul the whole team during this season, so the low bar for Rattler will be the ability to start for this team for the remainder of this year, as they continue to look for a starting quarterback in the draft next season.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara: 10 carries, 31 yards | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 45 yards
Kendre Miller: 8 carries, 21 yards | 1 target,1 reception, 11 yards
The running back room for the Saints is essentially Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, and nobody else, which is good for their value, but seemingly isn’t going to end with any value produced. Kamara was not showcased early and was only able to eke out a 3 yards per rush average. While Kendre has seen his name bubble up over the past two weeks amid trade rumors involving Kamara, for now, he’s going to continue to see half the backfield carries and targets, and without touchdowns, neither will see much value out of it. Late in the game, Kendre was able to make a nice 11-yard one-handed catch, but for the most part, running backs were kept back for defensive blocking and potential checkdowns, and only saw six targets. Kamara still showed some burst on his receptions, averaging 9 yards per reception, but was unable to break out, and also was unable to find paydirt. We’re looking at a running back duo that isn’t going to see much more value than this, as they continue to pay squads that test out Rattler and key in on their running backs.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Chris Olave: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 98 yards
Rashid Shaheed: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 28 yards
Brandin Cooks: 1 target, 1 reception, 21 yards
Taysom Hill: 1 carry, 1 yard, 1 TD
Franklin Moreau: 1 target, 1 reception, 9 yards
Devaughn Vele: 1 target, 1 reception, 0 yards
Juwan Johnson- 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards
Chris Olave continues to be one of the unheralded WR1s in the league, as he continues to offer an amazing floor and consistency that not many teams have in their wide receiver rooms, but the potential is lost on an offense that, from week to week, does not truly seem proactive on offense, playing a reactive game that doesn’t really have a defined style or appearance. While the Saints played the Patriots well and had a solid showing, there wasn’t much to be gained from it, as only one other person on the squad saw more than two targets, and Taysom Hill stole the lone touchdown on a juggernaut of X-Men era push into the end zone on a goal-line carry into the end-zone.
As mentioned before, Rattler was moving the ball early to avoid pressure from the defensive line, and that led to nine individuals seeing at least a solo target, causing more of a mysterious consensus on who is actually the second in line for targets consistently behind Olave, and while the Rattler end line wasn’t that discouraging (a 102.6 QBR is pretty solid), it’s not expected but also not shocking if this team continues to try a way to kick start the offense with interesting QB options before the season ends. Taysom Hill, QB1, anyone?