Drake Maye Is Elite

By Steve Atkinson 

Drake Maye is an elite quarterback, and the Patriots wouldn’t have won the game against the Saints without his key throws. While the officiating was poor and the defense struggled in the first half, it’s a quarterback league, and Drake delivered when it mattered most. Boutte made the catch that sealed the game. The run game was also ineffective; they couldn’t run at all. Thankfully, Drake Maye stepped up in the clutch.

Drake Maye said after the game about the win

No, shoot, it’s huge. Anytime. Coach just said, you got to celebrate winning this league, no matter how it is, no matter how much we could have played better and how much we left out on the plate. But the Saints are a good team. They have some good players, and they played hard, and it was tough playing here at their place. Just proud of the guys for coming out with a win. Good to get out of here and get on next week.”

Drake Maye Has Clutch In Him

If this were a Patriots team from recent years, they would have lost that game. There’s no way they would have won with Mac Jones, as Belichick seemed to have given up on him. Vrabel believes in Maye, who is more mobile and significantly more poised than Mac Jones. Drake stands in the pocket, doesn’t let the pressure affect him, and makes a play. The Patriots finally have an elite quarterback.

Mike Vrabel on the Drake and Boutte connection

I think he factored and certainly came up huge at the end. I think he’s just gotten better and just… I like his demeanor, never too up, never too down. Sometimes the ball finds him and he makes the plays, and then when it doesn’t, he just kind of understands that it just wasn’t his snap. Then to be there at the end there, to take a good hit and score, and then to come up with a huge play there at the end, it really went in there and won the game for us on a third down. You see the confidence that Drake has with him, his play strength and his ability to go frame the football in a big situation. I hope he can enjoy this for a few minutes with his family or anybody that was down around here. Just a big play for him.”

The AFC is wide open for the Patriots to take advantage of and improve their standing in the league in the future. They have upcoming games against the Titans, Browns, and Falcons, and they could easily end up with a 7-2 record before facing Tampa Bay. Josh McDaniels has done an excellent job adapting the offense to showcase what Drake does best. The combination of bootleg plays and a West Coast style offense has become a significant strength.

However, the run game needs improvement, as they have struggled to establish a solid rushing attack. When leading late in games, it’s essential to be able to run the ball instead of relying on the quarterback to bail the team out each time, as was the case on Sunday. Hopefully, they can focus on strengthening the run game this week and be ready to perform against the Titans.