The New England Patriots offense was a one-man band down in Nashville on Sunday. His name was Drake Maye.
The rookie quarterback was forced to do it all for the Patriots against the Tennessee Titans — extending plays, picking up yards with his legs, fitting completions into tight windows. He ended the day with 301 total yards of offense. The Patriots as a whole finished with 295.
“Guy’s special, man. Just the way he competes, the way he plays, the way he continues to fight,” captain Hunter Henry said of Maye. “He’s very special. Got a lot of talent.”
Maye’s playmaking ability was highlighted in the final play of regulation, as the quarterback dodged defenders around the pocket for 11.82 seconds before finding Rhamondre Stevenson for a touchdown to help take the game to overtime.
It marked the the second-longest time to throw on a touchdown pass since 2016, trailing only Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary from one week ago.
“That’s Drake,” cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. “Nobody was surprised, honestly. Drake does stuff like that all the time.”
DRAKE MAYE MAGICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/UvIB3dRi8k
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 3, 2024
Maye’s legs were a factor throughout the day. He helped bail New England out of penalties and a negative rushing attack, which included a 22-yard scramble on third-and-15 and 13-yard scramble on second-and-16 on the team’s first touchdown drive.
In total, Maye scrambled eight times for 95 yards — the most scramble rushing yards by a quarterback in a game this season. The 95 yards were also a team-high, marking the third time in Maye’s four starts the rookie led the team in rushing.
The one start he did not lead the team in rushing yards? Last week against the Jets, when he left the game on the third drive. Maye finished the game with 46 rushing yards, just two shy of Stevenson’s team-high 48.
“Have to be able to run the football. Obviously, that was disappointing,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after his running backs totaled just 15 yards on 12 carries. “Drake was probably our leading rusher today. You never really want your quarterback to be your leading rusher.”
While Maye nearly dragged the team to victory, New England unfortunately saw the downside of relying on a 22-year-old quarterback having to do it all. Maye turned the ball over three times — two interceptions and a strip sack, where he tried to escape the pocket before being taken down from behind.
The second interception closed the curtains on New England in overtime as Maye’s deep shot to Kayshon Boutte was under thrown and picked off.
“Some decisions I made throughout the game that would have impact the outcome. Take that upon myself,” Maye said. “[The last interception was] a dumb decision. Something you’d like to have back, especially in that situation. We can at least tie it up on our own 40. Sometimes the best play is to throw it away and that’s a bad decision on my part.”
As the Patriots entered the season knowing potential playoff goals were lofty, they hoped to lay the foundation of their next contending team. The quarterback looks like a hit — especially to his teammates.
“Drake is just phenomenal. He keep showing it week-in and week-out. I’m very proud of him,” wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “When you got someone like that, it encourages you to go harder.”
“He looks amazing,” defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said. “I love watching him on the sideline. I tell the guys all the time he looks like Josh Allen 2.0, and I played Josh Allen in Miami his rookie year, and he didn’t look that good. And Josh Allen is a phenomenal player. He’s an MVP-type player… Drake looks better than Josh his rookie year.”
Beyond Maye, plenty of work remains to be done to bolster the roster around him. But the quarterback has the ability to make everything easier moving forward, as Godchaux even noted players will want to play with a talent like that.
“He gives us a lot of potential to grow. I think that’s the greatest thing about Drake. He’s doing things you don’t see at a young age,” Bourne added. “I think everybody understands in our offensive room that we have something in him that can make everybody better. He has that aura, you just know he’s going to go out there and do his thing. He’s going to play, he’s not scared, and that’s someone you want to follow.”
