Patriots OT Vederian Lowe fulfills ‘lifelong dream’ with touchdown catch vs. Rams

The Patriots-starting left tackle caught a 4-yard reception on Sunday.

Down 15 points in the early fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams, the New England Patriots were in dire need of a spark. They found it via an unlikely source: starting left tackle Vederian Lowe.

Facing a 2nd-and-goal from the Rams 4-yard line, the team came out in what appeared to be a run look. They had seven players on the line of scrimmage, with quarterback Drake Maye under center as if ready to hand the ball off.

That look was deceiving, though. Not only did Maye not hand the ball to Rhamondre Stevenson, the players up front were aligned in an imbalanced formation. Instead of Lowe filling his usual role at left tackle, he had declared himself eligible on the play and was serving as a big tight end rather than a true OT.

What looked like a LT-LG-C-RG-RT-TE-TE line therefore effectively was TE-LT-LG-C-RG-RT-TE with the left guard snapping the ball. The look muddied the waters for the Rams defense, which is precisely what offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was hoping to achieve.

The result was Lowe being wide open as an eligible receiver after disengaging from his initial block. All Maye had to do was find him.

The rest was a lifelong dream fulfilled.

“I’ve never caught a touchdown, ever, in any level of football that I’ve ever played at. But it’s always been a dream of mine,” Lowe said after the game.

“Since I was a little kid, I always thought I could play tight end growing up, and I always thought I had fairly great hands. I always thought — stuff with the O-line, saying I’ve got the best hands on the O-line, all that other stuff. I’ve been waiting for a moment like this. I’m just glad when the play got called, everybody executed, and we were able to score a touchdown.”

Lowe’s 4-yard score gave the Patriots some much-needed life versus the Rams. They ultimately still ended up losing the contest with a final score of 28-22, however, which resulted in a dampened mood in the postgame locker room.

Nevertheless, Lowe will have some fond memories looking back on the contest.

That is true even though the play itself did not come as a surprise to the 25-year-old; the Patriots had worked on it in practice during the week, with Lowe catching the ball on three separate occasions. Still, the timing of the call remained unclear heading into Sunday’s game.

“When it comes to special plays, you never know when the OC is going to call them. You never know if he’s going to call them,” Lowe said. “Whenever our big guys came in, I was like, ‘Oh, s–t. I think this is the time.’ And I was ready for it.”

A sixth-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, Lowe joined New England via trade last year. He ended up starting eight games at both left and right tackle, struggling to find his footing in his first year as a Patriot.

Year 2 was off to a similarly disappointing start. While he had emerged as the Patriots’ starting left tackle over the course of training camp, an abdomen injury suffered shortly before the start of the regular season created an uncertain outlook. While he was eventually cleared before the season opener, injuries continued to be an issue.

Lowe missed Weeks 3 and 4 due to a knee injury, and later was unable to join the rest of the team on its trip to London in Week 7 because of an ankle issue. The ailment is still limiting him in practice, but there was no slowing down on Sunday.

When his number was called, Lowe made sure to be ready.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life to catch a touchdown, let alone it being in the NFL. So, I was just ready for it,” he said. “I knew exactly what I had to do. I knew I had to shed my guy, and we were so close to the goal line. I’m like, ‘Oh, you just made it way easier. Now, I don’t have to run anywhere.’ So, once the play got called, I knew exactly what I had to do. I just had to catch it, and I knew I was going to do that. …

“Once they showed me the play earlier this week and running it in practice, you’ve got to give the coaches the confidence to call the play. So, we ran it in practice, I did the same thing every single time, caught it every single time. I was just really glad that in this moment, I was able to execute and make a lifelong dream of mine come true.”