New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is celebrating after a 42-13 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.
Maye expressed pride in his offense and teammates after the big victory at Gillette Stadium.
“Just proud of the guys. I thought they played hard. We get back to our fundamentals and kind of back to establishing our identity. I felt like we did that. Probably didn’t hurt ourselves. A few penalties we’d like to have back and obviously three and outs we could have done a better job on first down,” Maye said postgame.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is also seeing Maye’s growth over the weeks, especially after his best performance yet. Maye completed 82.4 percent of his passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
“Just throw to the guy that’s open and end the progression as soon as he’s open. If not, quickly progress through. Those are the things that quarterbacks have to do, and they have to have a command of it, and we did that,” Vrabel said of Maye.
“I think the rad zone clearly is a big factor. Our ability to convert those chances into touchdowns was important. I saw a lot of extra effort, guys blocking downfield, springing guys. Again, I like when everybody’s involved and the quarterback just throws to the guy that’s open every play no matter who it is.”
Maye’s ability to lead is also felt in his teammates, including wide receiver Mack Hollins, who caught his second touchdown of the season against the Panthers.
“I think every week, you’re going to grow whether it’s a win or a loss. I think his confidence continues to grow just because reps help that. So, seeing him be able to grow and see the field a little bit easier is always awesome,” Hollins said.
Maye’s growth over the weeks will need to continue if the Patriots are going to be competitive in the playoff picture.
Maye is still young and mistakes will come, but he is showing that he can learn from his errors, which is so important as a second-year quarterback.
Maye will look at the film, see where he can improve and apply it during practice as the team prepares for the Buffalo Bills in Week 5.
