FOXBOROUGH - One-game wonder? Or rest-of-the-season stud?
It's hard to know if the Stefon Diggs that showed up Sunday night in Buffalo, hellbent on putting on a show against his former team in his return to Highmark Stadium, will be the Diggs we see in New Orleans Sunday, and every week to follow, or if this was simply a one-time, adrenaline-charged masterpiece from a scorned player.
Given it's already somewhat of a miracle that Diggs returned so quickly from ACL surgery, the hope is that he's just now finding his legs, and his rhythm, and the best is yet to come.
That would certainly move the needle for this Patriots team, their outlook, and push for the postseason.
What was on display in Buffalo was vintage Diggs. He spearheaded the Patriots 23-20 upset of the previously unbeaten Bills.
He was dominant, dependable and clutch. After a while, the Bills knew where Drake Maye was going with the ball. They knew it was headed to No. 8 at every critical turn, and they needed to stop him.
They failed. Diggs, who caught 10 passes for 146 yards, couldn't be covered. He won from the slot, the X and Z receiver positions. He generated a ton of offense. It brought back memories of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, and how they could single-handedly impact a game.
Diggs showed a quickness we hadn't seen over the course of the first four games. He showed a natural feel for finding space against zone coverage, and once he got his hands on the football, churned out yards after catch.
Seven of his 10 catches went for 10 or more yards. Against Carolina the previous week, Diggs caught six passes for 101 yards. While that was certainly good, what he did against the Bills was on another level.
Speaking with the media Wednesday, Diggs said he didn't know what the future held, but he was certain of his role, and what he needed to provide.
"I'm going to get open and catch the ball," he said. "We'll see where the chips fall at the end of the year. But I'm not too concerned about it."
Diggs was on for 30 offensive snaps against the Bills, and Maye targeted him in nearly 50 percent of those snaps.
Perhaps the biggest reason to feel that Diggs' performance wasn't a one-off is the rapidly growing chemistry he shares with Maye.
They've quickly established an unspoken connection. If Maye's on the run or scrambling to avoid the pass rush, Diggs instinctively knows where he needs to be.
"Knowing the holes in the defense, knowing where guys aren't, I think it comes from experience," Diggs said. "Where the league (had gone), each team now, a lot of guys now play zone, soft zone, and finding the zone is where the league is right now. It's not too much man-to-man coverage. There's still sprinkles of it here and there, but being able to know where you are, having a plan, it's just playing football. I try not to make things over-complicated. It's still like we're in the backyard. I've been playing football since I was five ... it's just playing ball."
Maye, meanwhile, said Wednesday it's been easy establishing such a quick connection with Diggs.
"I think the biggest thing is that he's a receiver that's easy to throw to. He has great hands," Maye said. "He catches different ways - with his body, he turns with the football and makes people miss very easily. It’s very natural. You can just tell he’s played receiver a long time and played at a high level.
"So just trying to put it in his vicinity and he always says, ‘I got you.’ Just trust that, and I think it will continue to build and build and try to get him in the end zone.”
Count on the Saints shading more coverage his way, trying to limit the damage of the Maye-Diggs connection. If Diggs isn't free, it'll be up to Maye to find the open guy whether that's Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, Pop Douglas or Kyle Williams.
That's the beauty of having Diggs emerge as a top gun. It will help Maye and the offense as a whole, and the rest of the receiver room.
Coming off back-to-back 100-plus yard receiving games - the first Patriots receiver to do so since Edelman in 2019 - it's certainly a sign that Diggs can't be taken lightly.
The receiver, however, says he hasn't necessarily been lifted by those performances.
"Not at all. I expect to get open. I expect to have success. I expect to get open and catch the ball. It's part of my job," he said. "One game doesn't roll over into another. Everybody plays different ... each week will look different, the complexion of the defense and the team. I gotta get back to work ... I'm just trying to approach it the same way."
Diggs also downplayed how he was able to gain a ton of yards after catch, looking more like a spry youngster than a 31-year-old coming off ACL surgery.
"I feel like I've been doing it long enough, I should know how to make guys miss," he said with a smile. "My skillset and what I'm able to do, I just try to put it on display consistently."
Mostly, Diggs seems to love being the alpha, being a mentor, and spreading his knowledge - and enthusiasm - with his teammates.
Beating the Bills was just the beginning. He believes we haven't seen anything yet.
"I look forward to continue to build this thing," he said. "We're in a cool spot ... there's a lot of things we can learn from the tape. We can be better."