It has been 10 days since the Patriots last played football.
In that time, we have watched Josh Allen get crowned the greatest quarterback to ever live again. We watched Ben Johnson’s Bears hang 59 on Carolina.

So naturally, Patriots fans want Drake Maye and Josh McDaniels to come out Sunday against Pittsburgh and do the same thing.

Three hundred yards. Multiple touchdowns. No turnovers. Let Drake rip it. Unlock the whole thing.
I would love that version of Sunday.

I just do not think that is the version we are getting.

A.J. Brown is out. T.J. Watt is coming to town. The forecast could turn this into a wetter, uglier game as the afternoon goes on. This does not feel like the spot where New England hangs 30-plus and finally gives us the MVP-candidate version of Drake Maye.

That does not mean we cannot see meaningful change from this offense.
It presents a different kind of test.

Maye was clean in Week 18. Since then, he has turned it over in five straight games, at least twice in each one, 11 times total. Seven interceptions. Four lost fumbles.
The first goal Sunday is not a masterpiece.
It is ending that streak.

What Pittsburgh Actually Showed
Pittsburgh beat Atlanta without needing to empty Patrick Graham’s bag.
The Steelers blitzed at a league-low 7.7 percent, played zone on every Atlanta dropback, and trusted Watt and their front to get home with four.
It worked.
Watt had two sacks and a pick-six. Graham mixed Cover 3, Quarters, and Cover 6, which showed up on 22.8 percent of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.

Cover 6 has been a problem for Maye. Seattle used split-safety looks to make him impatient in Week 1, and Graham has spent the week watching exactly where Maye got himself into trouble.
Maybe Pittsburgh stays with four and lets Watt hunt. Maybe Graham adds pressure and makes Maye solve something different.

New England needs to be ready for both.

The Watt Problem
Nobody shuts down T.J. Watt.
The Patriots do not need to pretend otherwise. The job is to slow him down enough that he does not become the entire story.
McDaniels needs a plan for Watt from the first series. Chips. Slide protection. Quick answers. Screens. Runs. Whatever it takes.
Do not make Maye and Morgan Moses spend the first half discovering what the plan should have been.
And if Pittsburgh wants to sit in two-high looks, New England needs to run at the lighter box. Rhamondre Stevenson is still the guy who has to carry that load. Henderson being back gives the Patriots an explosive change-up, not a magic answer.
Take the yards Pittsburgh gives you until Pittsburgh has to change.

Drake and Josh Need to Meet in the Middle

This is the actual story Sunday.
Drake wants to play fast, score, and attack. McDaniels wants to control the game, protect the football, and grind out possessions.

Both instincts make sense. Neither can own the entire afternoon.
Seattle showed the bad version of both. McDaniels coached a 10-point lead like it was 30. As the game tightened, Drake felt the pressure mounting and tried to shoulder too much himself.
Against Pittsburgh, they have to find the middle.

McDaniels cannot give us another afternoon of Dive. Draw. Bubble. Punt. Put your balls on the motherfucking table.
Come in with a plan. Test Pittsburgh early. Attack the soft spots in its zone. Be ready to punch them in the mouth from the opening series.

Maye’s side is simpler: do not get bored.
That was Vrabel’s message this week, and it is the right one. The five-yard completion is not an insult. The checkdown is not surrender. If Pittsburgh takes away the big play, take the six yards, move the chains, and make them tackle.
Then, when they finally give you the shot, let it fly.

Time for Doubs to Produce

Brown being out is still New England’s biggest problem.
Joey Porter Jr. being out does not magically make the remaining receivers A.J. Brown. But it does create an opportunity.
Especially for Romeo Doubs.

Doubs arrived on a four-year, $68 million contract, then opened his Patriots career with zero catches on three targets and a drop that helped turn into an interception.
He said he needs to lock in.

No shit.

Another disappearing act and send him on Jeff Bezos’ next space launch with that moon-bounce helmet on. If he shows up and plays well? I knew he would.

Hollins, Douglas, Henry, and Raridon need to give Maye dependable answers, too. Kyle Williams and Efton Chism have a real chance to show why they made this roster.

Sunday may not be the day Maye throws for 300 yards and three touchdowns.
It can still be the day the Patriots punch first, protect the football, and keep their foot on Pittsburgh’s throat instead of turning a lead into another field-position contest.
Slow Watt down. Let Drake play. Do not let him force it.
That is the happy medium.

Ed’s Picks
Current record
0-2-1 (very cold.. You should probably fade me)
Rhamondre 50+ rushing yards (-103)
Drake Maye 25+ rushing yards (-141)
Pats ML (-225)