Drake Maye stood on the sideline, winter hat on, deep breaths showing on a cold day, as Josh Allen wound down the final seconds of the New England Patriots’ first loss since September.
Sunday was the Patriots’ worst passing performance of the season. Maye’s total of 155 passing yards was his lowest of the season and second lowest of his career.
The 35-31 loss to the Bills was a reminder of a difficult question that will soon face the Patriots, in the short term as the playoffs near, and as one of their biggest dilemmas of the offseason: Do they have enough at wide receiver?
In this magical 11-3 season, there have been so many bright spots. And New England’s wide receiver play, in general, has been better than expected. Stefon Diggs has been good, especially for a 32-year-old coming off an ACL tear. Kayshon Boutte has turned into legitimately one of the game’s best deep threats. The depth behind them is improved.
But after a down game Sunday, to have success in the playoffs — and even on Sunday night against the Ravens — the Patriots need more from their wide receivers. Against the Bills, Diggs and Mack Hollins were the only receivers with more than one catch. Hollins led the way among receivers with 41 yards.
2025 Patriots WR statistics
When coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the pass catchers on Monday, his first words were spent highlighting several areas of improvement for wide receivers.
“We have to continue to run routes,” Vrabel said. “Receivers have got a very unique job. We need them in the run game. You have to have them in the run game at some capacity when we run it. And then, when we throw it, they have to be able to recognize man or zone quickly. … But their job is to get open and create separation or have great spacing. Their job isn’t to decide if they get the ball thrown to them or not. I know that that’s difficult, but for every time that somebody’s open, there’s usually a time where somebody’s not later on in the game.”
Of course, this isn’t to throw cold water on the entire passing game, which has been great this season, or even just the receivers. More to the point: The big games that loom for the Patriots will be the ones where the wide receivers’ performances will matter most.
That’s because the AFC playoffs are going to be loaded with good secondaries that will test receivers’ abilities to get open. And that may impact the amount of offseason resources the Pats invest in the position.
The playoff teams in the AFC are close to set. According to The Athletic’s playoff simulator, six AFC teams have better than a 95 percent chance of making the playoffs. The seventh and final spot will go to the winner of the AFC North: either the Steelers or Ravens.
The hard part of that for the Patriots is that all seven of those teams have defenses that rank in the top half of the league in pass defense (based on expected points added per play). Only the Steelers (13th) and Jaguars (14th) rank outside the top 10. Lots can still change, but for now, the Patriots’ most likely first-round playoff opponents are the Texans or Chargers, who rank second and fifth in the NFL, respectively, in passing defense.
So while New England’s wide receivers have generally exceeded expectations this season, the challenge will soon get much tougher.
What has worked for the Patriots so far is also part of what hurt them against the Bills. They’re a team that relies on depth at the position more than a true No. 1 wideout. (A surprising fact: Diggs has only played the third-most snaps at wide receiver this season, behind Hollins and Boutte.)
They have just one receiver with more than 550 receiving yards (Diggs), but four with at least 400 yards. They’re on pace for a sixth straight year without a 1,000-yard receiver, a streak that dates to Julian Edelman when he was catching passes from Tom Brady.
That’s another reason these last few games will go a long way toward determining the franchise’s offseason plans. Much of the discussion following the loss to the Bills has been centered on the defense — and rightly so.
That side of the ball should be the focus, not just the rest of this season, but also in the offseason when the team’s decision-makers decide where to allocate their top-end resources. Sign a linebacker. Draft an edge rusher. Get more depth in the secondary. Invest in the defense.
That’s especially the case since the offense shouldn’t need much help this offseason. Add a backup tight end. A center. Maybe a right tackle.
But what’s becoming clear is that the team could use more help at wide receiver. And it wouldn’t be crazy to invest there, even if it means using a first-round pick on the position.
Maye has shown that he’s an elite quarterback. But the Patriots are about to play some of the game’s best passing defenses. The Ravens rank 10th in that area. After that, the team will start looking at playoff matchups, which are bound to yield even tougher tests.
So while this season has been great for the Patriots for so many reasons — not the least of which is far better receiver play than a year ago — how the wide receivers fare over the next month will play a major role in determining just how long this playoff run lasts.