Did Maye Finished the Patriots' Difficult Brady Hangover?
It's hard not to sympathize with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears. Those franchises have endured years in QB uncertainty, cycling between young players and placeholders. In contrast, after just five years of searching, the New England Patriots – the post-Tom Brady Patriots – seem to have discovered their man.
Five years. From Brady through Newton, Jones, Zappe, and Maye's rocky start to now: a young quarterback who looks like a top-five starter and MVP candidate.
His breakout performance came last week: a victory away in Orchard Park, where Maye matched throws with the Bills' star and outplayed the current MVP in the fourth quarter. But Sunday in New Orleans may have been more remarkable. Fresh off an surprise victory over the division favorites, a visit to a lousy Saints team had risk of a slump. And the Saints threatened early. They executed a large gain on the opening snap of the game, before faltering in the redzone and settling for a three points. It took Maye all of four plays to answer, launching a 53-yard deep ball to Pop Douglas for the leading score.
Drake Maye connects with Pop Douglas on a 53-yard bomb!
It was Maye at his best, navigating the protection to throw a perfect pass downfield. After that, he didn’t let up: Maye torched the Saints in every area of the field. His first half was so impressive that his alma mater was forced to tweet. He ended 18-of-26 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and zero giveaways. 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 QB rating north of 100. Only the Chiefs' star, the Cowboys' QB, and the Hall of Famer have ever done that at age 23 or younger.
The top QBs convert tough away matches into ho-hum wins. They don’t put the ball in harm’s way, keep the offense chugging and make the decisive throws on crucial downs. The Patriots needed every bit of Maye’s near perfection to narrowly defeat the Saints. They couldn’t run the ball against a stout front. Their defense allowed multiple big gains. This was a contest decided by Maye’s right arm. And he performed under pressure.
Maye was hit a several times and tackled once, but the defensive pressure was continuous. It made no difference. Maye passed all three touchdown passes while pressured, with all three going over 20 yards in the flight.
It's beyond statistics. It’s Maye's demeanor. He’s self-assured and calm in the protection, scanning options to locate receivers. When necessary, he can take off and improvise on the ground. As a rookie, he was a little chaotic, fleeing the pocket at the initial hint of danger. But this season, he’s been more like Brady, adapting to the confines of the system 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 reduced by half his risky play percentage from his debut season, when he was constantly trying to conjure magic out of failed schemes. Currently, he’s choosing wisely. He hasn’t committed a turnover-worthy play in three outings.
Coming out of college, Maye was touted as a big-armed bomber. Scouts questioned his capacity to process sophisticated coverages and operate a complex offense. Overly casual. Too reckless. But the offensive coordinator, in his third stint as New England's OC, has unleashed the full breadth of his scheme. Maye isn’t being limited; he’s being relied on. The Patriots are evolving weekly once more, and Maye is leading the attack like an eight-year vet.
His growth has sped up the Patriots' schedule. If there were to be second-year progress, you imagined it would be a slow burn. There would still exist the spectacular passes, while Maye used the season trying to reduce his mental errors in half. That would be improvement. Instead, Maye has smashed expectations. Six games into his sophomore year, he’s become one of the league’s best – and he’s made the Patriots into playoff hopefuls once more.
Chicago supporters will find solace in witnessing the progress of Caleb Williams. But if you’re a Cleveland or New York follower, you have to wince. Because this is what it’s supposed to look like when a franchise QB emerges. And for the other NFL quarterback-starved franchises, it’s another example of how cruel and cyclical this sport can be. The Patriots went from the GOAT to a potential star in five years. Some teams spend a quarter of a century searching – and still don’t find a solution.
Finding a franchise QB is about beyond winning games. It alters the personality of a fanbase and franchise. For 20 years, the Pats lived the gilded life. But the recent years have been about failing to build a bridge from Tom Brady to the next era. They’ve found the answer today. Prepare for your Masshole friends to regain their Brady-era bluster.
MVP of the Week
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks. Against a tough Jacksonville D, Seattle's sole option was for Sam Darnold to look for Smith-Njigba, anywhere and everywhere. The receiver answered with eight catches for over 150 yards and a score on 13 attempts, as the Seahawks edged the Jaguars by eight points. Seattle’s defense led the way, pressuring Trevor Lawrence and sacking him a season-high seven sacks. But it was JSN who carried the Seahawks’ offense, accounting for all the first 117 of the Seahawks’ initial 117 yards through the air. That featured a long TD and maybe the nastiest route we’ll see from a receiver all year.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba just beat new Jaguars CB Greg Newsome on his first play with his new squad – a 61-yard touchdown.
Video of the Week
The Miami Dolphins were on the wrong side of another frustrating, last-minute loss. They gained a narrow lead over the Los Angeles Chargers with under a minute remaining, after their QB found Darren Waller for his fourth score of the season. The Chargers then popped a 40-yard kickoff on the ensuing kickoff. Then, the Chargers' QB and his receiver took over.
WILD PLAY BY HERBERT AND MCCONKEY.
Hoo boy. That is brutal. Amazingly, Herbert was able to evade two defenders, slipping past the initial before tossing the other to the ground. He located McConkey in the short area, who put a Dolphins’ corner on skates to move the ball in range for the winning field goal.
It sums up the Chargers’ season: narrowly winning on the brilliance of their QB and his teammates as his offensive line flails. And it sums up the Miami's D, too: a defensive pressure that struggles to finish and a floundering secondary. With the defeat, the Dolphins dropped to one win and five losses. Miserable second-half collapses have become common for Mike McDaniel’s team. With another defeat, he’s running out of time to save his job.
Stat of the Week
Minus-10. That’s the net passing yards the Jets' QB finished with in the New York Jets' 13-11 loss to the Broncos in the UK. It’s the lowest in any game since the Chargers had negative 19 in 1998. Back then, the Chargers started Ryan Leaf making his third game. Fields was in his 49th start.
It's clear who Fields is now: an exceptional runner who has difficulty to decipher the {passing game|pass
