FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Wide receiver Stefon Diggs totaled six receptions for 101 yards in the New England Patriots' 42-13 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, snapping a 22-game streak of sub-100-yard games and marking a personal breakthrough in his return from a torn right ACL suffered last October.
Diggs' standout performance sets the stage for his return to Buffalo, where he played from 2020 to '23, as the Patriots visit the Bills next Sunday in primetime.
"I feel like it's been a slow build-up throughout the past couple weeks," said Diggs, who signed a three-year, $69 million contract with the Patriots in March. "I had to keep my eyes in the front of me, not what's behind me. I was injured, and it was something that weighed on me for a long time, and I was just fighting to get back, fighting to be on another team and prove it again -- not only prove it to everybody else, but prove it to myself.
"I knew that I could do it, and so I was confident, but when things like this turn the corner ... this is why you're consistent. This is why you don't waver. This is why you don't flinch."
Diggs, 31, was eased into the mix in the Patriots' first three games, playing 53% of the snaps and entering Sunday with 12 receptions for 112 yards. The Patriots expanded his workload against the Panthers, using him in multiple spots, but especially in the slot position previously manned by DeMario "Pop" Douglas. The game marked the 37th of his 11-year career in which he's totaled 100 or more receiving yards.
Quarterback Drake Maye, who has talked about trying to get Diggs the ball while staying in the flow of the offense, noted the receiver's speed was faster than he anticipated.
"I think he's going to keep getting more comfortable," said Maye, who was 14 of 17 for 203 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday in a game that turned on Marcus Jones' 87-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the first quarter. "He's a great player with the ball in his hands. Great with the energy, being positive, and glad he's a Patriot."
Veteran tight end Hunter Henry added of Diggs: "He's a guy that we rely on heavily, a guy who has had a lot of success in this league, and for him to show up like he did today is huge. I think he's continuing to gain confidence in his knee and the whole process of coming back from that, because I know how that can be; I've been through it myself. But just awesome to see him out there flying around."
Diggs' 22-game streak of sub-100 yard games had spanned three teams -- the Bills, Houston Texans and Patriots -- and he acknowledged that he's wanted to "show more" early in his Patriots tenure. New England teammates have now turned to him to deliver pregame speeches.
"I feel like it was hard for me, through the past couple weeks ... I want to be a leader, but I feel like it comes from consistency, especially in practice, and guys leaning on you and trusting you that you're doing the right thing all the time," he said. "It's important for me to start a pre-game speech, because I want to get everybody going. I'm a high energy guy, charismatic guy, and come with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. I feel like that's part of the reason why they brought me here -- to be that guy. So, I'm just trying to be myself."
As for next week, facing the Bills and his former quarterback Josh Allen, Diggs already was looking ahead in the aftermath of the victory.
"It's going be a crazy atmosphere. They have one of the best fan bases in the game," he said. "We're playing a real good football team, a well-coached team, and a lot of good players over there. Shout out to Josh. I look forward to the challenge."
