The New England Patriots head into a “Thursday Night Football” matchup against the New York Jets riding a seven-game winning streak. The No. 1 seed in the AFC is in their sights, and with a handful of favorable games remaining, they just might pull it off.

It’s hard to believe the team has turned things around so quickly, but quarterback Drake Maye’s ascension into an MVP candidate has been vital. As great as Maye has been, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson recently revealed the real reason the Patriots are winning.

“Are the New England Patriots winning because of Drake Maye? I don’t think they’re winning because of him. I think they’re winning because of the two coaches on the sideline in Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels. Drake Maye isn’t the reason that New England is winning. It’s those coaches on the sideline. They’ve gotten him to play a certain way, and they’re calling the game a certain way,” Johnson said.

Vrabel as head coach and McDaniels as offensive coordinator have clearly had a major impact, but Johnson is probably being a bit extreme here. Maye has a legitimate chance to win MVP in his second NFL season, and while the staff deserves plenty of credit for that, it was clear as a rookie that Maye had something special.

He excelled last season with virtually no protection, no weapons, and a coaching staff that was fired as soon as the season ended. Vrabel and McDaniels deserve all the credit in the world, but so does Maye.