The new hero is second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who was far from perfect Sunday night but was frequently serenaded by chants of "M-V-P" by the sold-old crowd, delighted on an evening that was chilly but not frigid. These Patriots won four games last season and 14 this one, becoming the third franchise in NFL history to improve by more than 10 games over the previous year.
Starting center Garrett Bradbury even mentioned that Maye gets really into ping-pong, which the most knowledgeable Patriots fan will remember was also true of Brady during his days in New England. "His competitiveness comes out every day. Whether we're playing Ping-Pong, cards, it does not matter. Any sort of game, any sort of activity you can compete in, he's going to sign up for it."
It is a nice change of pace in New England at this point in the season to be focused on the playoffs rather than already looking ahead to free agency and the NFL Draft. But that doesn't mean it's too early to eye some of the top candidates that will inevitably be on their radar, including a wide receiver like Alec Pierce.
FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots have undergone one of the biggest turnarounds in NFL history. At 14-3, they've won 10 more games than last season. Only the 1999 Colts and 2008 Dolphins made turnarounds that big from one season to the next. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye has been one of the driving forces of that success. With the regular season wrapped up, he finds himself on a short list of contenders for the NFL MVP award.
It was a masterful showing by the entire team, but especially by Drake Maye, as it firmly put him back in the MVP conversation after one of the best quarterback performances in NFL history. Despite that, there was still a game to be played on Monday Night Football by the Rams and MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford, with most believing they'd beat the Falcons with ease.