Drake Maye leads Patriots to first playoff berth with comeback win

[ad_1] NEW Now you can take heed to Fox Information articles!

The New England Patriots received proper again to successful after having their 10-game streak snapped final week, and it was in come-from-behind style.

The Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens , 28-24, on the street to enhance to 12-3 and punch their ticket to the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Ravens' playoff hopes dwindled additional following a Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Detroit Lions earlier on Sunday. Baltimore now sits two video games off the AFC North lead at 7-8, that means they would want to win out and have Pittsburgh lose out, which features a Week 18 matchup between the 2 rivals.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Drake Maye of the New England Patriots passes the ball towards the Baltimore Ravens throughout the first quarter at M&T Financial institution Stadium on Dec. 21, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Pictures)

The large story popping out of this one was Lamar Jackson being unable to play all 4 quarters after struggling a again harm within the second quarter, which finally knocked him out of the sport.

The harm occurred on a run play, the place it appeared Jackson caught the knee of a Patriots defender within the aspect. He was instantly wincing in ache and got here off the sphere, with Tyler Huntley taking up.

BILLS STAR SLICES UP BROWNS' DEFENSE WITH 44-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN

When the Ravens got here out for the second half, Huntley was nonetheless beneath middle and Jackson wasn’t seen in any respect. He was dominated out and the Ravens, with their playoff hopes within the steadiness, needed to belief Huntley to get the job accomplished.

Issues had been wanting up in that respect, as Derrick Henry scored his second landing of the sport early within the fourth quarter to make it a 24-13 sport.

However Drake Maye and the Patriots’ offense weren’t going to start out a shedding streak.

Maye led a seven-play drive, going 73 yards with a Kyle Williams bomb down the sphere for a 37-yard rating. Not solely did they add six factors to the tally, however they wished to chop Baltimore’s result in three factors they usually did so with a profitable two-point conversion.

Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens warms up previous to the sport towards the New England Patriots at M&T Financial institution Stadium on Dec. 21, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Pictures)

New England’s protection got here up clutch on the subsequent drive, forcing a punt to get Maye the ball proper again. Then, 9 performs and 89 yards later, Rhamondre Stevenson, who needed to deal with a lot of the operating again workload after TreVeyon Henderson left with an harm throughout the sport, broke out a 21-yard run to take the lead, 28-24.

There was nonetheless slightly below two minutes left for the Ravens to function, however Zay Flowers, who had a giant sport with seven catches for 84 yards and a speeding rating, fumbled after catching a brief cross and the Patriots recovered.

From there, Maye iced the victory with an ideal learn choice, retaining the ball for himself and going 16 yards for the primary time, ensuring to slip earlier than reaching the top zone to kneel out the clock.

Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream all the FOX Nation library, plus stay FOX Information, Sports activities, and Leisure at our lowest worth of the 12 months. The provide ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Within the field rating, Jackson was 7-of-10 passing for 101 yards with solely seven speeding yards earlier than exiting. Huntley was 9-of-10 for 65 yards, whereas Henry completed with 18 carries for 128 yards and his two scores, together with the primary landing of the sport.

For New England, Maye was legit as soon as extra, going 31-of-44 for 380 yards with two landing passes and one interception, whereas speeding for 26 yards. Stefon Diggs could not have gotten in the long run zone like Williams and Hunter Henry, however he led the sport with 138 receiving yards on 9 receptions. Mack Hollins additionally contributed 69 yards on seven catches.