What a difference a year makes. The New England Patriots are mired in a 1–2 start, with quarterback Drake Maye slipping from being an MVP contender and Super Bowl signal caller to “looking forward to getting back to playing winning football.”
Maye’s performance of 14–25 passing for 199 yards and two interceptions during a massive Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 35–6, has sounded the alarms in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Maye had a shoulder injury last season, and concern about it hasn’t gone away. There are numerous lingering questions about why the league’s 2025 MVP runner-up has regressed, but Maye clarified that the shoulder is not a problem overall.
“Yeah, I mean, I like to say when you got that much time off, and you get to focus on getting back that you’re going out there healthy,” Maye told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “You’re gonna get banged up every now and then, but at the same time, a lot of guys are banged up. So, looking forward to getting back to playing winning football. That’s the main thing, and knowing that I play a big role in that, and taking that and taking the bull by its horns.”
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel won’t lay all the blame on Maye as the defending AFC champions face a big upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills (3–0) in Week 4. Vrabel likened the offensive situation to golf swing troubles.
“I think sometimes, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it, we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” Vrabel said via WEEI on Monday.
“We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax. We need to settle in and go play football and not try to force things that aren’t there,” Vrabel added.
Maye doesn’t have his top wide receiver option available, as A.J. Brown sustained an injury in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl rematch. It took another turn for the worse on Tuesday when the Patriots put offensive lineman Greg Van Roten on injured reserve.
Injuries are a significant part of the Patriots’ decline this season. New England has also been without tight end Julian Hill and offensive linemen Mike Onwenu and Marcus Bryant.
That said, successful teams overcome injuries all the time in the NFL, and this year’s Patriots squad hasn’t found the answers.
Maye has 585 yards passing for a touchdown versus six interceptions thus far.
His six picks in three games tied the worst start by a Patriots quarterback since Drew Bledsoe in 1994. The good news is that New England actually went 10–6 that year under former head coach Bill Parcells, and Bledsoe threw for 4,555 yards and 25 touchdowns despite a league-high 27 picks.
Maye could turn things around, and the Patriots will need him to do that in a hurry. The Patriots aren’t likely to bench Maye for backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, but Maye’s performance isn’t sustainable for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations again.
“Confidence comes from your preparation, and it comes from going out there. I can’t manufacture confidence,” Vrabel said. “You have to practice. You have to hit those plays in practice, and you have to feel good about it.
“We just have to be able to make sure that we’re on the same page, that everybody knows what is expected of them, have a few details, and then go play football,” Vrabel added.
