FOXBOROUGH - Drake Maye Week 1 against Las Vegas?
Hesitant and out-of-sorts in loss to the Raiders.
Maye Week 5 against Buffalo?
Outplayed Josh Allen en route to a primetime upset win over the Bills.
Maye Week 10-11 against Tampa Bay and the New York Jets?
MVP candidate/MVP frontrunner.
The Patriots quarterback has not only thrust himself into the conversation, but if the season ended today, should be the one holding the MVP trophy.
The Patriots are an NFL-best 9-2, have won eight straight, and would not be sitting in the driver’s seat for the AFC’s top seed without Maye.
The award is for player who is most valuable to a team’s success.
Subtract Maye and where are they? Would the Patriots be remotely close to where they are now?
And as much as he’s about team, and not thinking about honors and awards, the Gillette Stadium fans were a constant reminder to Maye of just how well he is playing during the course of Thursday night’s 27-14 win.
They chanted “MVP! MVP!” during pre-game introductions when Maye came out. And, they did the same for practically every offensive series.
“MVP!” MVP!" “MVP!”
Maye then proceeded to validate the chant. He started off by completing his first 11 passes. He finished 25 for 34 for 281 yards with a touchdown.
There were no turnovers. Just top-shelf quarterback play, which has been his calling card most of the year.
There was also a little Mahomes-like wizardry mixed in there, with him moving and making jump throws and unconventional tosses.
Like many other teams in previous weeks, the Jets had no answers trying to defend Maye.
They utilized some of Tampa Bay’s strategy, dropping more players back into coverage, which led to an uncharacteristic 51 percent completion percentage against the Bucs, but didn’t do the trick Thursday night.
Whether throwing from the pocket, or on the move, blitz or no blitz, Maye’s accuracy was off the charts.
He simply got the ball where it needed to be.
And if necessary, Maye, who will hold on as long as possible to try and make a deep throw, wasn’t afraid to take the check-down to salvage a play.
He hit TreVeyon Henderson five times on those type of throws, and it proved effective.
“He’s playing at an elite level right now. I’m biased, but I think he’s the best player in the NFL,” left tackle Will Campbell said. “There’s no game that we’re out of when we have him.
“Even though how good of a player he is, he’s an even better person and an even better teammate. That makes it that much more cool to share the huddle, the locker room and be friends with somebody like that. I look forward to the future, continue to play with him, grow with him. He’s got everything in front of him and I’m super excited to be a part of it.”
The fact the players believe there’s no game they’re out of, while also believing that anything is possible with Maye at the helm is another MVP-type trait.
Maye, who was first out of the gate Week 11, is currently in the mix with LA Ram quarterback Matthew Stafford, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Indianapolis’ running back Jonathan Taylor and Buffalo quarterback Allen.
Mahomes and Allen have earned the distinction before. And if they really heat it up down the stretch, and get their teams into the playoffs, would naturally be tough to beat.
But right now, both take a backseat to Stafford, who provides the stiffest competition for Maye.
While Taylor has had a great year, and is largely responsible for the Indianapolis Colts 8-2 record, MVPs don’t typically go to running backs. He’s more likely headed for the Offensive Player of the Year. He fits that profile better.
Stafford?
His league-leading 25 TD passes, with just two interceptions is impressive. Maye, with 20 TD passes and four picks, isn’t exactly chopped liver by comparison. Stafford is certainly great, but he has a better offensive cast around him. Sean McVay’s offense is also quarterback friendly. And let’s not forget the Rams were a playoff team last season while the Patriots were road kill.
There’s still a long way to go before this award is decided. Anything could happen between now and January. If the Patriots do go on to capture the division, and the conference’s top seed, Maye’s name should be on that trophy when the smoke clears.
He’s already tallied the most 200-plus passing yard and 100-plus passer rating games in a single season, breaking Tom Brady’s record from 2007.
Through two seasons, he has also produced the most games in NFL history with a completion percentage of 80% or higher.
Opposing teams have yet to discover his Kryptonite. He just keeps leading the team to wins, utilizing everyone at his disposal, and lifting the play of everyone around him.
He keeps doing things that few quarterbacks can do. Not many are playing better than Maye right now.
It should be noted that both Mahomes and Lamar Jackson won MVPs in their second season.
So it’s not like it hasn’t been done before.
“I would say his performance in general has been what we expect,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said following the game. “We have high expectations for Drake. He has high expectations for himself. He’ll continue to improve. I know that he’ll stay humble through this all.”
Right now, the MVP isn’t on Maye’s radar. A weekend of rest, and the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals are occupying his mind.
But he is appreciative of the fan support, not to mention, all of their chanting.
“I think our fans have been great with me since I got here, since I got drafted,” Maye said. “I just appreciate them for embracing me, and (I’m) trying to embrace this city and give these fans and this team ... just leave it all out there and give it everything I got.”
Eleven games in, that kind of effort is worthy of the NFL’s top individual prize, whether he acknowledges it or not.
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