Joe Milton III shines in Patriots’ surprising Week 18 win vs. Bills originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Rookie quarterback Joe Milton III made his NFL debut for the New England Patriots in Sunday afternoon’s Week 18 regular season finale versus the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium, and he made quite the first impression.
In fact, Milton played so well that the Patriots beat the Bills 23-16 and, as a result, slid from the No. 1 pick to the No. 4 pick in the final 2025 NFL Draft order.
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye started the game but only played one series. Milton entered the game on the next offensive possession and played the rest of the afternoon. Milton didn’t know how much he would play or when his opportunity would come until shortly after the game began.
“After the kickoff (the coaches were) like, ‘Hey, you’re going in next series.’ And I was like, ‘All right, let’s do it,” Milton said in his postgame press conference.
The University of Tennessee product completed 22 of 29 pass attempts for 241 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions. He also ran for a touchdown in the first quarter. Throwing accuracy was one criticism of Milton over the summer, but he was pinpoint with his passes against the Bills defense and his footwork was much improved.
“I’m going to be honest with you all. Still to this moment right now, none of this feels real,” Milton said. “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.”
Milton’s exciting skill set was on full display during his 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in the second quarter.
He used his athleticism to escape the pass rush, avoid a sack and fire a pass to Boutte, who was wide open in the middle of the field. Milton avoided three or four sacks in this game because of his superb mobility.
It’s unclear what Milton’s future is with the Patriots. Maye is the unquestioned starter and the foundation of the franchise moving forward.
Will the Patriots keep Milton as the backup for next season or potentially look to trade him for a draft pick in the offseason? You could make a strong case for either option.
Regardless, the growth Milton showed Sunday was a very positive development for the Patriots amid one of the toughest seasons in franchise history.
“I feel like today was a great step in the right direction for my development, my future itself, just because you never know,” Milton said.
“The full length of an average career in the NFL is three years, so just try to take every rep that I get, even if it’s in practice or a game, just try to take it serious as much as I can. Whatever it takes to do, whatever I got to do, I do it.”
