TAMPA, Fla. — Mike Vrabel didn’t want to end the first half of Sunday’s game with a field goal. After driving 83 yards to the Buccaneers’ goal line, he wanted six.
So, with the Patriots facing fourth-and-goal from the half-yard line, Vrabel kept his offense on the field. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels sent out his two most experienced pass-catchers and put the ball in Drake Maye’s hands.
The result: a highlight-reel toe-tap touchdown to Stefon Diggs.
The veteran wide receiver motioned behind tight end Hunter Henry and then beat safety Antoine Winfield Jr. off the snap. Winfield tried to punch the ball as they fell to the turf, but Diggs held on and got both feet down in bounds as time expired.
OH MY TOE TAP STEFON DIGGS 🤯
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/M7Zm9LTh6c
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 9, 2025
The touchdown gave the Patriots their first lead of the afternoon. They scored again two plays into the second half — on a 55-yard touchdown scamper by rookie TreVeyon Henderson — and never trailed again in a 28-23 road victory over one of the top teams in the NFC.
“It was a huge play for us on fourth down, that confidence in our guys,” Vrabel said after the game. “So to be able to have confidence in them at that moment and them come through, that’s about players and not necessarily plays. So I was really excited and proud of Stef and Drake for scoring when we were and being able to end the half with the football in our hands.”
New England’s desire not to give Baker Mayfield and the Bucs another drive before halftime led to some unusual play-calling before Diggs’ score.
After a 5-yard Henderson rush put the ball on the 1-yard line and Tampa Bay called its final timeout with 1:44 remaining in the half, Maye leaned into center Garrett Bradbury in a half-hearted attempt at a quarterback sneak. CBS analyst Tony Romo speculated on the broadcast that Maye intentionally did not score in order to bleed more time off the clock.
Henderson then was stuffed on back-to-back goal-line carries before Maye connected with Diggs on fourth down.
Vrabel sidestepped multiple questions about Maye’s sneak.
“Like I said, we’re just really excited that we could end the (half with) the ball in our hands at the end of the first half and then be able to come out in the second half,” he said.
Maye said he “was trying to get in” on the play.
“Big Vita Vea — it (isn’t) easy to get in with Vita standing there,” the QB said of Tampa Bay’s stout nose tackle. “I know the clock — I think the clock (became) a thing, so it ended up probably working out for us. But we ended up scoring. That’s all that matters.”
Maye called Diggs’ touchdown “a toe-tap extraordinaire.” Diggs said he appreciated Vrabel’s aggressive mindset in that moment.
“You obviously can tell that he was a player once,” said Diggs, who caught five of his eight targets for 46 yards and recovered the game-sealing onside kick in the final minute. “He wants to be aggressive. He wants to instill confidence in his guys and let them know he trusts us out there. It’s our job to, late in the down when your coach wants to roll the dice or have some faith in you, making nice plays gives your quarterback confidence, gives your coach confidence. It’s just us going in the right direction as a team.”
The Patriots went 2-for-3 on fourth down in the game, converting a fourth-and-1 in the first quarter and misfiring on a fourth-and-5 in the third. Their goal-line conversion allowed them to bookend halftime with two touchdowns — the desirable double-score — for the second time this season.
“I made a decision to go for it,” Vrabel said. “I trust our players, and they came through. They made me look good.”
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