On the verge of an early-season collapse, Vrabel and his coaches have altered the trajectory of their season the last two weeks. They got the young quarterback out of his funk. They avoided an emotional letdown Sunday after a big win in Buffalo. The offense is explosive again. Backups are making big contributions. They turned 1-2 into 3-2, and the schedule is softening.
Most importantly, they won Sunday by four touchdowns, and their players felt like it should have been more.
“I mean, it’s crazy to say we still got some left to squeeze,” Maye said. “That’s a Coach Vrabel football team stepping up, being ready to take advantage of your opportunity.”
The Patriots won Sunday without receivers A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins, four cornerbacks including starters Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis, and lost TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) and Will Campbell (knee) in the second quarter.
The Patriots had tight ends playing fullback, and backup wide receivers playing the X, Y, and Z positions. (Vrabel credited receivers coach Todd Downing.) Backups Williams, Eli Raridon, and Kindle Vildor were the ones making the big plays.
“We had all hands on deck,” Vrabel said. “We ask everybody to prepare as a starter, so credit to the football players. That’s not easy, you know, to learn three different positions and being able to step in there and block and make plays.”
Sunday’s win reflected well on the coordinators and assistant coaches, too. This may have been one of Josh McDaniels’s best regular season games of his career — against his former team, perhaps not coincidentally. Missing those top two receivers, starting fullback Reggie Gilliam, left tackle, and No. 2 running back, the Patriots still scored six touchdowns, went 4 for 5 in the red zone, and racked up 536 yards, their most in a game since October 2021.
Five receivers went for at least 40 yards, including breakout performances for Williams (91 yards, touchdown), Raridon, and Efton Chism (five catches, 57 yards apiece).
“Big word of this week was ‘opportunity,’ ” said Douglas, who went for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
McDaniels had an answer for everything. Maye joked that he had time to eat “a ham sandwich” on his first touchdown pass. Maxx Crosby, the Raiders’ dominant pass rusher, had just one tackle and two quarterback hits. Douglas couldn’t have been more wide open on both of his touchdown catches. Screens and draws to the running backs came at just the right time. A designed (per a coaching source) hook-and-lateral play from Chism to Henderson gained 16 yards on a third and 11.
“He was clicking on all cylinders, making us look good, and we were executing,” Maye said of McDaniels. “It was beautiful to be a part of today.”
Most importantly, McDaniels has helped Maye dig his way out of his early-season hole. Maye was a mess the first three games, struggling to cope without Brown and throwing inexcusable interceptions that cost the Patriots in losses to the Seahawks and Jaguars. There were legitimate questions about whether Maye was still affected by the Super Bowl loss in February, or whether he was just a flash in the pan last year as an MVP runner-up.
The last two weeks should squash all of that negativity. Maye threw three touchdowns and led a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback in Buffalo, and was flawless against the Raiders — making all the right decisions, calmly handling the rush, and delivering highlight-reel deep balls.
A few more performances like that and he’ll be right back in the MVP conversation.
“I’m just proud of these guys for stepping up,” Maye said. “Credit those big guys and credit coach McDaniels and the coaching staff for putting us in a good place to execute it, and we did that today.”
The defense under Zak Kuhr was equally impressive, holding a Raiders offense that had scored at least 26 points each game to just 17 and 306 total yards. Backup cornerbacks Charles Woods and Vildor filled in admirably for Gonzalez and Davis, holding up in one-on-one coverage as the Patriots sent heavy blitzes after Cousins on third down.
“When we blitz, those corners are out there solo-dolo a lot of the time, and they really stood up,” linebacker Robert Spillane said.
Vrabel was quick to deflect the credit to the players, but the Patriots’ coaches are a big reason the team is ascending in the AFC race.
“I think our coaches are great, and they understand the game plan, and they try to get their players ready. But ultimately, that’s what they expect of themselves,” Vrabel said. “They have high expectations of themselves as coaches, and I’m lucky to be able to have them.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.
