<\/p>\n
After an uninspiring opening loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the New England Patriots quickly turned the page to Week 2.<\/p>\n
That was not before corrections were made, however, which resulted in three key areas of improvement for quarterback Drake Maye: start faster, hit the open receiver, and execute better in the red zone.<\/p>\n
Those will be the priorities as the Patriots travel down to Miami to face the Dolphins on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust taking the next step. Part of it\u2019s moving on, part of it\u2019s learning from stuff throughout the game,\u201d Maye said Wednesday. \u201cGet off on a better start; the first drive was a three-and-out. We had good field position on that first possession. So, find a way to start faster. That\u2019s kind of a theme for the team, start faster. From there, just some throws I\u2019d like to have back. I feel like I say that every game, but particularly ones where I feel like I had guys open. Down in the red zone, be better down in the red zone where it\u2019s decision making on my part, accuracy or just in general. We\u2019ve got to score touchdowns when we\u2019re down in the red zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against the Raiders, the Patriots went a measly 4-for-14 on third-down and 1-for-3 in the red zone. But Maye\u2019s accuracy proved to be the bigger issue. His first pass of the game sailed high over the head of DeMario Douglas, setting the stage for several more sprays throughout the afternoon.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t all bad, however, as Maye had several high level throws en route to a single-game best 287 passing yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think just some of them, I was rushing them. I think I see them and kind of rush it to try to get it out to him as quick as I can,\u201d Maye explained. \u201cThe one to Pop [DeMario Douglas], he was getting close to the sideline with kind of a trapped corner there, so I tried to get it out as quickly as I could to him to get the first. But from there, I feel like I\u2019ve been throwing it pretty well and seeing it well. So, I think sometimes there\u2019s throws that, like I said, you just, \u2018Man, that could have helped us.\u2019 I feel like I made some pretty good throws throughout the game that I felt good about accuracy-wise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yeah, I\u2019m not going to over-harp on too much, but at the same time, you\u2019ve got to hit guys when they\u2019re open, so it\u2019s an even kind of balance. But yeah, definitely, accuracy is one of the biggest things at quarterback. So, being accurate is what I take pride in, and you can\u2019t miss open guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Patriots](\"https:\/\/platform.patspulpit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/121\/2025\/08\/gettyimages-2229628387.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=2.3138183383556%2C0%2C95.372363323289%2C100&w=2400\")
<\/p>\n
Under a new offensive coordinator and with a new supporting cast, growing pains were to be expected for Maye, who made his 13th career NFL start on Sunday.<\/p>\n
But improvements must come, and the unit has a strong opportunity to turn it around this week against a Dolphins defense that allowed 33 points in their season opener to the Indianapolis Colts in Daniel Jones\u2019 first start.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re working hard to fix this week. We\u2019re going to get back, and it was one game that we wished we would have had and feel like we could have had. But at the same time, I think we\u2019ve got pieces,\u201d Maye said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got guys that play hard and did a lot of good things on Sunday, so build off that and try to learn from that, and establish the run and build off that. The goal for everybody after Week 1 is trying to assess where they\u2019re at and get back there in Week 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my job to get us going and like I said, try to start fast. From there, just take what they give me and create positive plays. I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to create, just positive plays. From there, I feel like if we don\u2019t get it our own way, I think we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maye\u2019s unit put up just 13 points in the season opener.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n