New England Patriots
The Patriots quarterback is developing into one of the NFL’s best and the Gillette Stadium crowd let him hear it Monday night.
FOXBOROUGH – The moment that sparked MVP chants for Drake Maye during New England’s Monday night mauling of the Giants was a beautifully-placed deep ball to Kyle Williams that went for a 33-yard touchdown.
Maye hit the speedy rookie in stride a little bit to the left of the “P” in the Patriots’ end zone and Williams tumbled in for the score.
“It’s unbelievable. Sometimes you just sit there and be like ‘it’s too good to be true’,” Williams said after the game. “He has great arm talent. He sees the field very well.”
It wasn’t Maye’s longest throw of the night. He had a pair of 36-yard completions later on. The Patriots were already up double-digits when Willams snagged the ball.
But the way the crowd roared after the pass was completed was something else. The 23-year-old quarterback, decked out in a Pat Patriot red throwback jersey, provided another piece of evidence for his second-year leap into the MVP conversation.
“I think he’s realizing what he can be and what the impact that he makes on this offense and being the conductor,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “He’s hard on himself. I think that he challenges himself as well as his coaches. He means a great deal to this football team.”
As of Monday night, no one had more Pro Bowl votes (31,432) than Maye. He has the Patriots on an NFL-best 10-game winning streak and in position to compete for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC.
He was without his starting left tackle and guard but that didn’t stop him from torching the rudderless Giants (2-11) in primetime, going 24-for-31 with 282 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no turnovers.
The Patriots were dominant in their first Monday Night Football appearance since 2022, and Maye looked steady at the helm.
“Just trying to be the face of the offense,” Maye said. “Trying to — you know, want the pressure. You want the ball in my hands. I tried to show that all year and throughout my career. That’s what I kind of feel like.”
“I know they feed off of me and feed off of my energy and feed off of what I say to those guys. And what I say means something to them. So when adversity hits, I’ve got to respond. And from there I’ve got to be the same guy, same guy every day. Don’t try to change, and just be myself. That’s what the guys like the most.”
The MVP hype around Maye has been building for weeks now, not just in the media but also within the Patriots’ locker room.
Last month, rookie left tackle Will Campbell called him the “best player in the NFL.” Receiver Kayshon Boutte, who hauled in a 3-yard touchdown on a fade route, said the second-year quarterback is putting it all together.
The vibes have completely flipped from last year’s disastrous 4-13 finish during which New England was initially unsure whether it could afford to play Maye behind the offensive line in place.
On Monday night, the progress was on display for a national audience to see. The Patriots (11-2) have morphed into a playoff-caliber team with a young MVP candidate running the offense.
“I always did say he was the MVP,” Boutte said. “I think I said that maybe a month ago, but I think everything is really coming full circle. We’re trying to not get ahead of ourselves week by week. We’ve still got a long season to play.”
DraftKings gave Maye the second-best odds to win behind Los Angles’s Matthew Stafford heading into Monday’s game. Monday’s performance may help bolster his case, but the Patriots have a pair of tough tests coming up back-to-back after the bye-week.
A Gillette Stadium showdown with the Bills on Dec. 14 could wind up deciding the AFC East. A trip to Baltimore will follow, where a challenge against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens awaits. Baltimore’s physical defense should not be overlooked either.
As New England continues to chase the AFC’s top seed, they’ll have a couple of opportunities to prove themselves further. The influence that those games have on Maye’s MVP case could be big depending on how they go.
“Obviously, I’m biased because he’s my quarterback and I would love for him to win MVP his second year in the league,” receiver Stefon Diggs said. “He’s an amazing quarterback, but that ain’t up to us. I think what we’re chasing is going to be a little bit more important, but if you continue to play well it will fall right in your lap.”
Four games to go. Two at home. Maye is within striking distance for the MVP and has his eyes fixated on extending New England’s win streak to 11 games.
But, he still makes a point to shake off some of the praise and shine a light on his teammates.
“Shoot, I wish it was all me,” Maye said of the streak. “There’s a lot of people in this locker room, this organization, that play a big role in us winning games.”
“And shoot, just like you, showing up every day and making fun of you all for being in the locker room on a Friday asking us questions after practice, these guys are the same thing. They show up every day and they want to get better. And just proud of the guys and this team we have and love being around them.”
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