Has Maye Finished the Patriots' Difficult Tom Brady Aftermath?
It's hard not to sympathize with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Bears. These teams have endured years in QB uncertainty, cycling between young players and placeholders. Meanwhile, after just five years of searching, the Patriots – the after-Brady Patriots – appear to have found the guy.
Half a decade. From Brady to Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Bailey Zappe to Maye’s first choppy season to this: a 23-year-old quarterback who appears to be a elite player and MVP candidate.
Last week was his breakout: a victory away in Orchard Park, where Maye matched throws with Josh Allen and surpassed the reigning MVP in the final period. But the Saints game on Sunday may have been more remarkable. Fresh off an upset win over the division leaders, a visit to a struggling Saints squad had risk of a slump. And the Saints teased an upset. They executed a big play on the first play of the game, before faltering in the red zone and settling for a field goal. It took Maye just four snaps to respond, uncorking a 53-yard pass to DeMario Douglas for the go-ahead score.
Drake Maye goes 53 yards deep to Pop Douglas!
It was Maye in peak form, climbing through the pocket to deliver a perfect pass deep. From there, he kept pushing: Maye dominated the Saints in every area of the playing surface. His first half was so impressive that even North Carolina was forced to tweet. He ended 18-of-26 for over 250 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. And it might have been better if not for a series of debatable referee decisions.
It was his fifth straight game with over 200 yards and a passer rating above 100. Only Patrick Mahomes, the Cowboys' QB, and the Hall of Famer have ever done that at 23 years old or less.
The best quarterbacks convert tough away matches into routine victories. They don’t put the ball in harm’s way, maintain offensive momentum and make the decisive throws on crucial downs. The Patriots required all of Maye's flawless play to squeeze by the Saints. They couldn’t run the ball against a stout front. Their defense allowed multiple chunk plays. This was a contest decided by Maye’s right arm. And he performed under pressure.
Maye took hits a several times and tackled once, but the defensive pressure was constant. 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 how Maye carries himself. He’s self-assured and calm in the protection, scanning options to locate receivers. When needed, he can take off and improvise on the ground. As a rookie, he was a somewhat erratic, fleeing the pocket at the initial hint of danger. But this season, he’s been more like Brady, conforming to the confines of the scheme and delivering the ball to the right spot in a hurry.
For the season, Maye has 10 TD passes, two running scores and only two picks. He’s halved his Turnover Worthy Play rate from his rookie year, when he was constantly trying to conjure magic out of failed schemes. Currently, he’s choosing wisely. He hasn’t committed a TWP in three outings.
Coming out of college, Maye was touted as a strong-armed passer. Scouts doubted his capacity to read complex defenses and operate a complex offense. Too loose. Too reckless. But the offensive coordinator, in his third stint 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 evolving each week again, and Maye is piloting the offense like an eight-year vet.
His growth has accelerated the Patriots' schedule. 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 season trying to cut his mental errors in half. That would be progress. In contrast, Maye has smashed expectations. Six games into his second season, he’s become one of the league’s best – and he’s transformed the Patriots into division contenders again.
Bears fans will find solace in seeing the progress of their rookie QB. But if you’re a Cleveland or New York follower, you have to wince. Because this is the ideal scenario when a franchise QB arrives. And for the rest of the league’s quarterback-starved franchises, it’s another example of how harsh and repetitive this game can be. The Patriots went from the GOAT to a potential star in five years. Certain franchises spend a 25 years looking – and never locate a solution.
Finding a franchise QB is about beyond winning games. It changes the identity of a fan base and franchise. For 20 years, the Patriots enjoyed the gilded life. But the recent years have been about not constructing a transition from Brady to whatever would come next. They’ve found the answer now. Get ready for your Masshole friends to rediscover their championship confidence.
MVP of the Week
JSN, WR, Seattle Seahawks. Against a tough Jacksonville D, Seattle’s only way forward was for Sam Darnold to look for Smith-Njigba, constantly. The receiver answered with eight catches for 162 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets, as the Seahawks snuck past the Jaguars by eight points. The Seahawks' D set the tone, hounding Trevor Lawrence and sacking him a season-high seven sacks. But it was JSN who carried the Seattle's attack, making up all 117 of the Seahawks’ initial 117 yards via passing. 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 very first snap with his new squad – a 61-yard TD.
Highlight of the Week
The Miami Dolphins were on the losing end of another frustrating, last-minute loss. They gained a narrow lead over the Los Angeles Chargers with under a minute remaining, after Tua Tagovailoa found Darren Waller for his fourth score of the season. The Chargers then popped a 40-yard kickoff on the following kick. Then, the Chargers' QB and his receiver seized control.
WILD PLAY BY HERBERT AND MCCONKEY.
Hoo boy. That is mean. Somehow, Herbert was able to evade two oncoming pass-rushers, slipping past the first before throwing the second to the deck. He found McConkey in the flat, who put a Dolphins’ corner on skates to advance in range for the winning field goal.
It exemplifies the Chargers' year: narrowly winning on the excellence of their QB and his teammates as his protection struggles. And it sums up the Miami's D, too: a defensive pressure that struggles to finish and a weak coverage. With the loss, the Dolphins fell to one win and five losses. Painful late-game failures have become common for the Dolphins. With another defeat, he’s losing time to keep his position.
Stat of the Week
Minus-10. That’s the net passing yards the Jets' QB ended with in the Jets’ close defeat to the Broncos in the UK. It’s the fewest in any match since the San Diego Chargers had minus-19 in the late 90s. Back then, the Chargers started Ryan Leaf making his third game. Fields was making his 49th start.
We know what Fields is now: an exceptional runner who has difficulty to decipher the {passing game|pass