Did Drake Maye Ended the Patriots' Painful Tom Brady Aftermath?
You have to feel for the Browns, Jets, and Chicago Bears. These teams have endured years in quarterback purgatory, cycling between prospects and temporary starters. In contrast, after just five years of looking, the Patriots – the post-Tom Brady Patriots – seem to have discovered the guy.
Half a decade. From Brady through Newton, Jones, Zappe, and Maye's rocky start to now: a 23-year-old quarterback who appears to be a top-five starter and Most Valuable Player contender.
His breakout performance came last week: a victory away in Buffalo, where Maye matched throws with the Bills' star and surpassed the current MVP in the fourth quarter. But Sunday in New Orleans may have been even more impressive. Fresh off an surprise victory over the division favorites, a visit to a struggling Saints squad had risk of a slump. And the Saints threatened early. They executed a large gain on the opening snap of the game, before stalling out in the redzone and settling for a three points. It took Maye just four snaps to respond, launching a long pass to DeMario Douglas for the leading touchdown.
Drake Maye connects with Pop Douglas on a 53-yard bomb!
It was Maye in peak form, navigating the protection to deliver a strike deep. After that, he kept pushing: Maye dominated the Saints in every area of the playing surface. His opening two quarters was so searing that even North Carolina was forced to tweet. He finished 18-of-26 for over 250 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. And it might have been better if not for a trio of debatable referee decisions.
It was his fifth straight game with over 200 yards and a passer rating above 100. Only Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Dan Marino have achieved that at 23 years old or less.
The best quarterbacks turn difficult road games into ho-hum wins. They don’t put the ball in harm’s way, keep the offense chugging and deliver key passes on important plays. The Patriots needed every bit of Maye’s near perfection to squeeze by the Saints. They struggled on the ground against a strong defensive line. Their defense allowed multiple chunk plays. This was a contest decided by Maye’s right arm. And he delivered under fire.
Maye took hits a few times and tackled once, but the pressure he faced was continuous. It didn’t matter. Maye threw all three touchdown passes while pressured, with all three traveling 20 yards or more in the air.
It's beyond statistics. It’s how Maye carries himself. He’s confident and composed in the protection, scanning options to locate receivers. When needed, he can take off and create with his legs. As a first-year player, he was a little chaotic, fleeing the pocket at the first sign of trouble. But now, he’s been reminiscent of Brady, conforming to the confines of the scheme and delivering the ball where it needs to go quickly.
This year, Maye is up to 10 TD passes, two rushing touchdowns and just two interceptions. He’s halved his Turnover Worthy Play rate from his debut season, when he was constantly trying to conjure magic out of broken plays. Currently, he’s choosing wisely. He has avoided a TWP in three outings.
Coming out of college, Maye was touted as a strong-armed passer. Evaluators questioned his ability to process sophisticated coverages and operate a complex offense. Overly casual. Too reckless. But the offensive coordinator, in his third tour as New England's OC, has unleashed the entire range of his playbook. Maye isn’t being limited; he’s being trusted. The Patriots are shapeshifting each week once more, and Maye is leading the attack like an eight-year vet.
His development has accelerated the Patriots’ timeline. If there were to be second-year progress, you imagined it would be a gradual process. There would still exist the highlight throws, while Maye spent the year trying to cut his mental errors in half. That would be improvement. Instead, Maye has smashed predictions. Six matches into his sophomore year, he’s turned into one of the league’s best – and he’s transformed the Patriots division contenders once more.
Bears fans will take some comfort in witnessing the progress of their rookie QB. But if you’re a Browns or Jets fan, you have to cringe. Because this is the ideal scenario when a franchise QB emerges. And for the rest of the league’s quarterback-starved franchises, it’s yet another reminder of how harsh and repetitive this game can be. The Patriots went from the greatest of all time to a possible great in five years. Certain franchises spend a 25 years searching – and still don’t find a solution.
Securing a franchise quarterback is about more than victories. It changes the personality of a fanbase and organization. For 20 years, the Pats lived the privileged existence. But the recent years have been about not constructing a bridge from Brady to the next era. They’ve discovered the solution now. Get ready for your Masshole friends to regain their Brady-era bluster.
Player of the Week
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, wide receiver, Seattle. Against a stifling Jaguars defense, Seattle’s only way forward was for Sam Darnold to target JSN, anywhere and everywhere. The receiver answered with eight catches for 162 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets, as the Seahawks edged the Jaguars by eight points. The Seahawks' D led the way, hounding Trevor Lawrence and dropping him a season-high seven times. But it was Smith-Njigba who supported the Seahawks’ offense, making up all the first 117 of the Seahawks’ initial 117 yards through the air. That included a 61-yard touchdown and perhaps the best route we’ll see from a receiver all year.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba just beat new Jaguars CB Greg Newsome on his very first snap with his new squad – a 61-yard touchdown.
Highlight of the Week
The Dolphins were on the wrong side of another frustrating, late defeat. They took a one-point lead over the Los Angeles Chargers with under a minute remaining, after their QB found his tight end for his fourth score of the year. The Chargers then popped a 40-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. From there, Justin Herbert and his receiver seized control.
WILD PLAY BY HERBERT AND MCCONKEY.
Wow. That is brutal. Somehow, Herbert escaped two defenders, dodging the first before throwing the second to the ground. He located his target in the flat, who put a Dolphins’ corner on skates to advance in range for the game-winning kick.
It exemplifies the Chargers’ season: squeaking by on the excellence of Herbert and his teammates as his protection flails. And it reflects the Dolphins’ defense, too: a defensive pressure that struggles to finish and a weak coverage. With the defeat, the Dolphins fell to 1-5. Painful late-game failures have become common for Mike McDaniel’s team. With another rough loss, he’s running out of time to save his job.
Stat of the Week
Minus-10. That’s the net passing yards Justin Fields ended with in the New York Jets' 13-11 loss to the Denver Broncos in London. It’s the fewest in any game since the Chargers had minus-19 in 1998. Even then, the Chargers started a rookie making his third professional start. Fields was in his 49th.
It's clear what Fields is now: an elite rusher who has difficulty to decipher the {passing game|pass
