FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas was “licking his chops” when the Houston Texans lined up in man coverage in the fourth quarter.
And Douglas took full advantage of it.
Douglas took care of his one-on-one matchup with a slant route, caught a pass from quarterback Drake Maye and then won a footrace with a dive to the pylon to get into the end zone with New England’s third touchdown of the day.
It only put a dent in the deficit for the Patriots as they went on to lose, 41-21, at Gillette Stadium. But it was a more meaningful moment for Douglas since it was his first career NFL touchdown, and he had a good feeling that it would come in his 20th game in the league.
“I was mic’d up today,” Douglas said. “And I was saying I was going to get my first touchdown today. It got spoken into existence and manifested. I read the defense and saw man. After I caught the ball, I was like, ‘Don’t fall this time.’ Got into the end zone, first tud.”
Story continues below advertisement
Douglas was one of a few bright spots for the Patriots in the lopsided defeat. He consistently won battles to finish with a team-high six receptions for 92 yards. It was the most receiving yards for a Patriots wideout since the 2022 season.
The Patriots did make a puzzling decision at times to take Douglas off the field during two-receiver sets, but by cementing himself as the offense’s top playmaker, the second-year wideout could see the field even more going forward.
“Pop is one of our best receivers. He can get open against anyone,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said. “Those are definitely things we’ve got to consider.”
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images
