Drake Maye remains humble as he continues to take his game to a new level for Patriots

Drake Maye is doing some incredible things for the New England Patriots in just his second season in the NFL.

How incredible? How about besting a franchise record previously held by one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.?

Maye was nearly perfect in Sunday's 31-13 thumping of the Tennessee Titans, as he completed 21 of his 23 passes for an absurd 91.3 completion percentage. It set a new New England record for the highest completion percentage in a single game, surpassing the 88.5 completion percentage Brady had against the Jaguars in late December of the 2009 season.

Maye's reaction to surpassing the GOAT? The 23-year-old said he could have been better on Sunday.

"Yeah, left some out there that I ended up running that I could have thrown. I think I tucked it a couple times when I shouldn't have, and I think maybe I could get the backside progression more," Maye said after the Patriots improved to 5-2 on the season. "But yeah, I think I'm trying to be careful with the football and trying to challenge down the field and not just be being a 'Check-down Charlie.' Just trying to throw it to the guy that's open and they're making great plays."

Humbleness at its finest from the second-year quarterback, who hasn't looked like a a second-year QB with a new head coach and new offensive coordinator. Maye had 222 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers for the Patriots on Sunday, He completed 16 straight passes at one point -- a new career-high for the young passer. Maye now has three games this season where he's completed over 80% of his passes. 

Maye didn't just pick apart the Tennessee defense with short passes, either. He dialed up the long ball on a number of occasions, with Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, and Kayshon Boutte each bringing in passes for 20 yards or more. Maye hit Boutte for a 39-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter for his 12th touchdown pass of the season.

The football traveled 52.6 yards through the air, according to NextGen Stats, giving Maye his second touchdown pass of the season to travel over 50 yards. Maye is the only quarterback in the NFL with two such touchdown passes this year.

A number of Maye's passes were perfectly placed, including his 22-yard hookup with Hollins on the right sideline in the second quarter when he dropped it right in the receiver's bucket. Three plays later, Maye hit tight end Austin Hooper in the back corner of the end zone to tie the game, 10-10. Maye was a perfect 5-for-5 for 51 yads -- plus another 23 rushing yards -- on the drive.

That Maye also scrambled for 63 yards on Sunday makes him a cheat code for the Patriots. 

"I think there is an athleticism to him that's really, really cool," head coach Mike Vrabel said of Maye after the win. "I think he's really accurate from all different spots, whether it's in the pocket, off platform. He really has done a nice job so far spreading the football around. But there is an accuracy to him that has been really good for us."

Maye looks so much more confident and poised on the field, which has led to an incredible Year 2 leap for the quarterback. He's not only leading the Patriots to wins, but climbing up the NFL leaderboard and firmly inserting himself in the NFL MVP conversation.

Maye currently ranks second in the NFL with a 75.2 completion percentage. He's third with a 116.4 passer rating, behind only Detroit's Jared Goff (120.6) and the injured Lamar Jackson (130.5 in his four games). Maye's 8.6 yards per pass attempt is also third in the NFL, behind only Seattle's Sam Darnold (9.6 yards per attempt) and Jackson (9.1).  

Maye deserves a ton of credit for his quick evolution into an elite NFL quarterback. But he's just as quick to pass the praise onto the rest of the New England offense and his coaching staff.

"It's the guys around me. We're instilling confidence in each other and the confidence in myself and just keep on going out there and getting some wins under your belt, it helps with that," he said Sunday. "So just keep on going and not changing throughout the week and keep trying to do better."

Maye said the Patriots are just scratching the surface on offense. 

"We got some more left, and I think that's what coach (Josh) McDaniels is challenging us. I think those offensive coaches are doing a great job in their areas and I think we still got more left," he said. 

Taking care of the football has also led to Maye's incredible upswing. Sunday was his fourth straight game without a turnover, and it's no surprise the Patriots have won all four of those contests. He didn't have a single turnover-worthy play against the Titans.

Patriots teammates praise Drake Maye's efficient performance

While Maye dished out credit to everyone else, his teammates had a lot of praise for the QB after Sunday's win. 

"He's playing at a high level," said Diggs, who had a game-high seven receptions for 69 yads in Tennessee. "I mean, he's being a quarterback. It's easy to say that, but he's finding an open man."

"He keeps his poise. Never too high, never too low," said receiver DeMario Douglas. "He comes into the game very prepared. He watches a lot of film, definitely locked in and gets everybody right in their position. He's becoming a great leader and his confidence is getting up there. I want it out of the roof. I want his confidence out the roof. So as we play week after week after week I need it to keep going up, and I'm proud of him for sure."

"Guys are making plays for him," Diggs added. "Tight ends are playing well, running backs catching the ball. Receivers, everybody's just doing their job. Try not to give it too much, but you want to give to the media to kind of figure that thing out. But when you see a guy in practice, put a lot of time in it, approach this thing the right way, there's no surprise to us."

Throughout the summer, Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pushed Maye to become more of a leader on the field and in the locker room. Vrabel praised the quarterback for taking that challenge and running with it after Sunday's victory.

"There is a lot of demand there from Josh and myself and I think he's responded to that as far as the leadership that he's had to show this offense," said Vrabel. "Kept talking about he wants to earn it. Well, I told him that he's earned it. If he doesn't like something in practice, then he gets it fixed. If he wants a better Friday practice, he talks about it before we go out there on Friday. I think those guys respond to him and the things that he says and the way that he operates."

Maye has taken his game and his leadership to a whole new level, and it has the Patriots enjoying a level of success they've had only once since Tom Brady left town after the 2019 season. With their quarterback playing so well and the team fulling bought in on Vrabel's system, it certainly feels like the Patriots are destined for the playoffs for the first time since 2021. 

There is a long way to go and a lot of football left to play this season. But with Maye improving every week and his teammates responding to both his leadership and play on the field, it feels like the sky is the limit for the 2025 New England Patriots.

• National Football League
• New England Patriots