The New England Patriots won a hard-fought game in their team's "House of Horrors", Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, 33-27, against a stubborn Miami Dolphins team. The Patriots finally beat their nemesis, Tua Tagovailoa, after multiple failures the past few years.
It was a topsy-turvy tilt, with more twists and turns than a mountain road in the Swiss Alps, but when the bell rang, the Patriots came away with the all-important W. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win and in the final analysis, it's all that matters every week in the NFL. The Patriots are now 1-1.
Key plays were made by defensive tackle Milton Williams, Marte Mapu, Antonio Gibson, Harold Landry III, and others, but the linchpin, as it has to be for any NFL team, was the quarterback. For the Patriots, it's Drake Maye. Now, with at least a respectable NFL offensive line in front of him, he had a breakout game against Miami. In what was arguably his best game for the team, he spearheaded the win.
Drake Maye shined in the win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday
The Patriots need a big game from their second-year quarterback, Drake Maye, and they got that and more. Though he'd predicted a loss to the 'Phins, one top Boston analyst had some positive things to say about the Patriots' offense in Week 2.
Greg Bedard of CLNS media liked what he saw about the Patriots' offense in Week 2.
.@GregABedard doesn't want to HEAR ANYTHING about Patriots offense this week
"I know people think that if they don't score a TD on every drive, they fail. These are their drives: TD, TD, FG, Punt, TD, Punt, TD, FG...That's pretty damn good offense" pic.twitter.com/FeypCi6HKA
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) September 14, 2025
When even the curmudgeonly Bedard has good words, it's a sure sign that things are on the upswing. Yet, the key to all that was the Patriots' young second-year quarterback, Drake Maye, who's already beginning to make even the loftiest predictions about a breakout season reality.
There was never any doubt that if and when Maye had the supporting cast he needed, he'd excel, and he's doing just that.
Drake Maye had the best game of his young career against the Dolphins
The Patriots' young quarterback, Drake Maye, has only started about 15 games in his brief NFL career. Some of those were tantamount to preseason games, since he had no first-team reps at all in the ill-fated 2024 season before about the fourth game. That stunted his development and helped lead to the swift exit of his Head Coach, Jerod Mayo. He paid the price for that season-altering poor decision, no matter who actually made it.
That was then, and this is now. It's 2025, and Mike Vrabel put together a solid, if not spectacular, accompanying cast in the offseason. It will at least give Maye a fighting chance to win now, while the whole structure is completely rebuilt. Regardless, in two games thus far, Maye has already dispelled any thought of a sophomore slump. He's thrown that idea into the trash heap.
Against Miami, Maye had his best game as a professional. He logged a massive 82.6 percent completion rate, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a meager 31 yards, but they included another touchdown. Also, critically important, he had no turnovers. He's now raised his season's completion rate to 71 percent, and he's just beginning to find his range.
Maye did the right thing when he used his own judgment to break off plays and run when the opportunity, if not necessity, presented itself. His offensive line is young with two rookies on the left side, and it will take a few weeks to settle in. Yet, the improvement is already visible. And unlike in Week 1, the team went more to the run to set up the pass, and it worked.
This big game by Maye presages well for the rest of the season as the team and all its new players acclimatize to playing together.
On offense, the signs are already emerging under Maye's leadership. Yet, it's incumbent on the Patriots coaching staff to "let Drake Maye be Drake Maye" and use his running skills to full advantage. If they do, wins will be the result.
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