Patriots Country

Analyst Reveals Harsh Reality for Patriots' Drake Maye

The New England Patriots will have to be patient with rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

Matthew Schmidt

Nov 3, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) scrambles against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) scrambles against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
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The New England Patriots suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Tennessee Titans in overtime on Sunday in which they saw both the excitement and the drawback of having a rookie quarterback.

With the Patriots down seven at the end of regulation, Drake Maye avoided multiple defenders—Michael Vick style—and completed an incredible five-yard touchdown pass to running back Rhamondre Stevenson as time expired to send the game into overtime.

Excitement.

Then, after the Patriots allowed a field goal to the Titans in the extra session, he threw into double coverage on a first-down play, resulting in a game-ending interception.

Pain.

The tweets by Jeff Howe of The Athletic fully encapsulate what the Maye experience was in New England's Week 9 loss.

The first-year signal-caller went 29-for-41 with 206 yards, a touchdown and a couple of picks. He also carried the ball eight times for 95 yards.

As you can see, there was a considerable amount of good, but also a fair amount of bad.

To be fair to Maye, that is generally what one expects from any rookie quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes or C.J. Stroud. Ups and downs are anticipated. It's just a matter of Maye learning from them and adjusting moving forward.

Maye also started the game in spite of being in concussion protocol during the week thanks to a hit he took against the New York Jets last Sunday.

In five games and four starts thus far in 2024, the 22-year-old has thrown for 770 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 65.6 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 209 yards, averaging an incredible 10 yards per carry.

It's now on the Patriots to potentially add some help for Maye before the NFL trade deadline in order to make his job easier the rest of the way this season.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

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