#drake-maye

#drake-maye

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is coming off a stirring road win over Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in which he had his lowest completion rate of the season (16 of 31, 51.6 percent), struggled early throwing a wet football, and yet enhanced his NFL Most Valuable Player candidacy with some sensational and clutch throws in a 28-23 victory, most notably a 54-yard bomb to Mack Hollins on a third-and-14 play in the fourth quarter.

One illuminating way to gauge how your favorite football team is perceived around the NFL is to look at which announcer teams television networks deploy to call their Sunday games. During the two-decade dynasty, Jim Nantz called so many Patriots games - first with analyst Phil Simms on CBS's top team for 13 seasons, then with Tony Romo beginning in 2017 - that a moment was spent acknowledging his 100th broadcast of a New England contest during an October 2020 matchup with the 49ers.

The Patriots want to extend their win streak and maintain their undefeated away record, but they'll likely be without some key contributors on offense, which will already be in for a tough day against a very dominant Tampa defensive line. Although they faced the league's best defense just two weeks ago vs. the Browns, the Bucs are not going to be any easier.

If you want to talk about a leap in the NFL's MVP odds, let's cite the New England Patriots' meteorically rising second-year quarterback, Drake Maye, in the discussion. Maye, as predicted, has exploded onto the NFL scene and has risen to third in the latest MVP Odds of a major national observer. And, as the Carpenters once sang, he's "Only just begun".

To the naked eye, when a quarterback takes a lot of sacks, the offensive line gets the brunt of the blame. The one black mark on the New England Patriots' six-game winning streak has been Drake Maye taking sacks, as the second-year passer has been sacked 15 times over the last 11 quarters. That certainly isn't sustainable for a team looking to surprise the NFL landscape by winning the AFC East, which the Patriots have an excellent chance of doing.

But that doesn't mean this Patriots-Falcons matchup lacks intrigue, mostly because of the anticipation to see what Most Valuable Player candidate Drake Maye will achieve this week. Maye, who has made the second-year leap in a manner so spectacular that even the most optimistic Patriots fan could not have imagined it, has thrown for 2,026 yards and 15 touchdowns against just three interceptions, leads the NFL in completion percentage (a staggering 75.2) and passer rating (118.7), while also running for 250 yards and two touchdowns.

Even with the emergence of Kayshon Boutte and the offseason addition of Stefon Diggs, there's no such thing as too many weapons for Drake Maye. Diggs turns 32 in November, and with how quickly offenses evolve in today's league, New England would be wise to keep an eye on the next wave of playmakers in the 2026 NFL Draft. Here are three prospects at wideout -- one for each day of the draft --

Julian Edelman is no stranger to chasing championships. During his time with the New England Patriots, the team won three Super Bowls and played in five, and Edelman carved out a Hall of Fame-caliber career as a gutty slot wide receiver. He's one of many believers in his former team as the Patriots have carved out a four-game winning streak - including the last three on the road - a stretch that has seen second-year quarterback Drake Maye playing at an MVP level.

"Runners get into a rhythm," McDaniels said. "And sometimes that happens. I know TreVeyon has led us in carries in other games, and certainly Rhamondre [Stevenson] did last week. So, there's nothing specific. I think all those guys are continuing to work really hard. They play an active role in us improving ourselves in the running game.