Patriots’ Passing Attack Has Them As Only NFL Team To Do This
New England Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas had one of the best games in his two-plus NFL seasons on Sunday, recording four catches for a career-high 100 yards and one touchdown on six targets.
The 24-year-old led the Patriots in receiving yards, while tying for the team-high in targets and receptions during the group’s 24-23 win against the Atlanta Falcons.
Douglas’ performance was a perfect indicator of how New England’s passing attack has looked all season, as noted by ESPN’s Mike Reiss on Monday morning.
“Patriots are the only team in NFL to have 6 different players lead them in receiving in a game,” Reiss posted on Bluesky.
Prior to Sunday’s Week 9 tilt, wideouts Kayshon Boutte (twice), Stefon Diggs (three times) and Mack Hollins, as well as running back Rhamondre Stevenson and tight end Hunter Henry had led the Patriots in receiving at some point this season.
Diggs accomplished the feat in Weeks 4 and 5 with back-to-back 100-yard efforts, as well as in Week 7 with a 69-yard performance.
Boutte paced all New England pass-catchers in Week 1 with 103 yards and Week 6 (93 yards), Hollins did so in Week 8 (89 yards), Henry racked up a team-high 90 yards in Week 3 and Stevenson went for 88 yards through the air in Week 2.
Diggs still leads the Patriots with 508 receiving yards, but with how much MVP candidate Drake Maye has been sharing the wealth, it’s no surprise that the four-time Pro Bowler only ranks 22nd in the league in that category.
As long as New England keeps winning, the players likely won’t mind who gets the weekly accolades.