Last week, it was Nelson Agholor who had a breakout performance for the New England Patriots. This week, it was DeVante Parker.
After recording just one reception through his first two games in New England, Parker had five receptions for 156 yards in Sunday’s 37-26 loss to the Ravens. It was clear the Patriots were looking to get him involved from the get-go, too. Parker caught a short pass over the middle on New England’s opening offensive play and turned it into a 31-yard gain.
In New England’s second drive, Parker hauled in a 40-yard reception on a deep pass along the right sideline. The rest of Parker’s receptions all came on deep grabs, too.
Arguably Parker’s most impressive catch was when he was held by a Ravens corner before he reached up and made a 36-yard grab.
If it wasn’t that catch, then it was the one that was statistically one of the toughest catches made in recent NFL history. Later in the same drive that he made the 36-yard grab, Parker caught a 25-yard deep pass from Mac Jones on his back shoulder to get the Patriots to the Ravens’ 2-yard line. According to the NFL’s Next Gen stats, the play had a 7.4 percent chance of resulting in a completion – making it the most improbable catch of the last two seasons. In addition, Parker’s shoulders were 0.2 yards out of bounds when the ball arrived to him.
Parker credited his quarterback for making good throws as the duo appeared to finally be on the right page after a rocky first two games.
“Mac was just putting the ball in the right spot,” Parker said. “I’m just in the right area at the right time. I’m just coming down with it, making plays. Just doing what I can to help the team. Nothing was different. I felt good, like I’ve always been. When they call my plays, I just have to go out and make the plays.”
Parker’s performance on Sunday appeared to unlock another element for New England’s offense. It had five scoring drives that led to 26 points and got into the red zone on another drive – which resulted in an interception as Jones tried to find Parker in the end zone. Still, Sunday was progress for an offense that had 24 points and four scoring drives over its first two games.
The rest of the Patriots’ offense knew how much Parker’s involvement in Sunday’s game helped as New England was without top receiver Jakobi Meyers due to a knee injury.
“He’s a great ballplayer. I call him the high point kid,” wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “He catches the ball really well. Just made a lot of great plays.”
“I know what kind of player he is. I practice with him every day,” Agholor added. “That was an example for everyone else to see he’s a dynamic player. He wins his matchups and makes great plays. I’m happy that he had that type of game today so that those who didn’t believe, can see.”
Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Jones-Parker duo might be on hiatus for the next few weeks as the quarterback reportedly suffered a high-ankle sprain on Sunday. If Monday’s MRI confirms the news, the Patriots will likely turn to Brian Hoyer to start in the interim.
Even though he might be catching passes from the backup quarter, Parker expressed confidence in Hoyer if he ends up filling in.
“He’s a leader. He’s a vet and he knows the defenses. He’s seen it all,” Parker said. “I expect that he’ll just come out and do what he can to help the team.”
More must-reads: