Joe Milton III got his first NFL regular season action on Sunday as the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-16 in its regular season action.
The Patriots pulled starting quarterback Drake Maye after the first drive in part due to the Patriots needing to lose the game to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
However, Milton had other ideas, turning in a strong performance as the Patriots knocked off the Bills and dropped to the fourth overall pick in the draft. Milton helped out the state of Tennessee with the win as the Titans moved to the No. 1 pick due to the victory.
Milton was very impressive in his first NFL action, completing 22-of-29 passes for 241 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions. He also added 16 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. The 6-foot-5, 246-pound signal caller fired a 48-yard touchdown pass across is body on a broken play.
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Perhaps Milton’s best play of the day is one that didn’t count. The rookie quarterback bought time, scrambling around and made a Bills’ defender miss before firing a 22-yard touchdown that was called back due to holding.
Plays like this from Joe Milton is why there should be 1 “that play rocked” rule where if a play is cool enough then the flag is picked up.
— Dylan Holt (@DylanHolt_) January 5, 2025
Buffalo entered Sunday already locked into the two-seed in the AFC so they were playing a number of backups and third string players as well. But even in that light, Milton playing as well as he did was impressive.
Milton entered the season as the Patriots’ third string quarterback and has no path to being New England’s long term starter after an impressive rookie season from Drake Maye. But Milton’s play could help him earn a backup role either in New England or elsewhere.
The Pahokee, Florida native spent three seasons at Tennessee including one season as the full time starter. During the 2023 campaign, Milton completed 64.7% of his passes for 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. The Vols posted an 8-4 (4-4 SEC) record.
