A year after finishing second in NFL MVP voting, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye won’t have to worry about losing the award in 2026.
Three games into his third career season, Maye has regressed. Bad.
Last year, he had 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. This year, he has one touchdown pass and six interceptions. His passer rating has dropped from 113.5 to 58.6.
Sunday’s 35-6 rout of Duval included three turnovers and no touchdowns.
Appearing Mondays on WEEI The Greg Hill Showcoach Mike Vrabel was asked about Maye’s apparent decision-making issues.
“I think quarterbacks want to make plays” Vrabel said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I think they want to throw strikes. I think sometimes when Greg and I go golfing, we really want to make a good score, don’t we? Sometimes we are so focused on it, we try to choke the life out of the golf club and we are squeezing it so hard that the ball has no choice but to go sideways. We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single show. We need to relax. We have to settle down and go play football and not try to force things that aren’t there.”
It seems at this point it’s more than just bad decisions. Simms explained on Monday’s PFT Live that Maye has developed mechanical issues, including a quick wrist movement before making his throws. Also, Simms believes Maye is trying too hard to direct his shots, instead of letting him rip.
If the Patriots agree with the assessment, it won’t be easy to coach these things out of Maye during football season, when there’s always a fresh train going down the tracks. And the next stop is Buffalo.
Last year in Week 5, Maye led the Patriots to a victory in their final game at the Bills’ old stadium. This year in Week 4, Maye has a chance to reverse a troubling trend that has become a full-blown narrative.
