The New England Patriots needed to lose their Week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills to secure the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, but quarterback Joe Milton didn’t get the message.
Starting quarterback Drake Maye played only one series before being replaced by rookie Milton. Milton, a sixth-round pick, ended the game with 22 completions on 29 attempts for 241 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Although he mostly played against Buffalo’s backups, Milton handled himself well, showing poise and making a strong case for being the team’s backup quarterback for 2025.
“I’m going to be honest with you all, still to this moment right now, none of this feels real,” Milton said after New England’s 23-16 victory. “Just because I did scout team the whole year. I didn’t know when my moment was going to come.
Everybody around the building just kept saying the same thing, just be ready for your moment, and I didn’t know it was going to come today. Like I said all week, if the opportunity presents itself, then I’ll be ready. None of this today still feels real, and even right now it still doesn’t.”
“I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as I can, but at the same time just be cheerful with my brothers and cherish the moments that I have right now before it’s all over,” he added.
Milton Shines in NFL Debut
Milton didn’t know he would get the second series until after the game started. But on his first-ever NFL drive, he helped the Patriots go 55 yards for a touchdown. He completed all six of his passes for 51 yards and capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run, after faking a handoff to Gibson. More impressively, Milton celebrated his touchdown with a backflip.
“Nobody really expects me to do it, so when I do it, I feel like it’s going to blow up on media. So when I got there in the end zone, I was like, man, nobody is beside me, I think this is my moment,” he said about his flip. “So I just trust it.
I did backflips in my past before, especially in fall camp, so I was like, man, it’s time. It’s the perfect time for it.”
Milton shared that he always sticks his backflips, except for one time as a child.
“I always stick my backflips. The only time I have not stuck one was when I was six and I fell on my head at home,” he recalled.
Milton’s touchdown gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead, though the crowd at Gillette Stadium didn’t seem very excited. The Bills tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter. Then Milton put New England back ahead with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte.
Milton completed his first 11 passes before throwing his first incompletion. He finished the first half 12-of-13 for 139 yards, and the Patriots led 14-10 at halftime.
The Patriots didn’t score another touchdown, and a fumble by Milton in the second half set up a go-ahead touchdown by the Bills. But after Buffalo took a 16-14 lead in the third quarter, Milton helped lead the team to three field goals, securing a 23-16 win.
Drake Maye’s Brief Appearance
The Patriots received the ball first after the Bills won the toss and deferred to the second half. Maye, playing his only series, led the offense onto the field in a nearly empty Gillette Stadium.
Maye was on the field for a handoff, a penalty, a short incomplete pass to tight end Austin Hooper, and then he was sacked by veteran Von Miller, which ended his day. It was the 34th time Maye had been sacked during his rookie season.
It’s unclear why Maye played at all, but Coach Mayo said the team was focused on winning the game. When asked if playing Milton went against that goal, he responded defensively.
“We need to see what we actually have. It was good to have Joe out there,” Mayo said. “We won the game and Joe was our quarterback.”
Maye finished his rookie season with 2,276 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 421 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns. Since he started the game, Maye was credited with the win.
