NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drake Maye passed for three touchdowns of 25 or more yards, including two to Kayshon Boutte, and the New England Patriots outlasted the New Orleans Saints 25-19 on Sunday.
Maye completed 18 of 26 passes for 261 yards without a turnover and also connected with DeMario Douglas for a 53-yard score as the Patriots (4-2) won for a third straight week.
Boutte, a Louisiana native who played collegiately at LSU, caught five passes for 93 yards.
The Saints (1-5) were driving for a possible go-ahead score in the fourth quarter when tight end Juwan Johnson was ruled on video review to have fumbled what initially was ruled a first-down catch across midfield.
Linebacker Christian Ellis was credited with the forced fumble and safety Craig Woodson recovered on the New England 49.
While the Patriots were unable to convert the turnover into points, they forced the Saints to punt with 3:55 to go and never gave the ball back, sealing the victory when Maye hit Boutte along the left sideline for a 21-yard gain on third-and-11 with just more than two minutes left.
By then, the Saints had used all of their timeouts, and Maye was able to run the clock out by taking a knee three times as fans filed out of the Superdome.
Spencer Rattler completed 20 of 26 passes for 227 yards without a turnover, but the Saints struggled to get in the end zone. Taysom Hill had New Orleans’ lone TD on a 1-yard run and Blake Grupe kicked four field goals.
Saints receivers had some untimely mistakes. Chris Olave had six catches for 98 yards but could not hold on to the ball as he dove to get both hands on a pass in the end zone. He also dropped a potential first-down catch on New Orleans’ failed final possession.
Meanwhile, the Patriots held New Orleans to 73 yards rushing as a team.
Maye began making plays on New England’s first possession, converting a third-and-9 with a pass to Boutte before launching his deep scoring pass to Douglas on a long post route that Saints rookie safety Jonas Sanker misread.
On his second series, Maye had a 61-yard touchdown pass to Douglas nullified by a disputed, late flag for an offensive pass interference call on Stefon Diggs.
Undaunted, Maye continued finding completions — one on a back-handed flip under pressure to TreyVeyon Henderson for a 9-yard gain. Soon after, he fired a 25-yard scoring strike to Boutte, who caught the back-shoulder throw in the back of the end zone amid tight coverage by Kool-Aid McKinstry.
New Orleans kept pace with a pair of field goals and Hill’s 1-yard TD run.
The Saints briefly took a 16-14 lead on Grupe’s third field goal of the first half before Boutte’s 29-yard touchdown catch put New England back in front at 22-16 just before halftime.
Injuries
Patriots: Outside linebacker Harold Landry and cornerback Carlton Davis received treatment on the field but both returned to the game. …. Cornerback Marcus Jones also received attention on the field in the second half.
Saints: Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. appeared to hurt his right leg in the second quarter and Isaiah Stalbird also received treatment for an apparent lower-body injury and returned.
Up next
Patriots: Visit Tennessee next Sunday.
Saints: Visit Chicago next Sunday.
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