Despite an MVP-caliber season, former North Carolina QB Drake Maye's playoff struggles revealed critical areas for improvement in ball security and decision-making.
Former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye took a big step in his second season in the league.
The 2024 No. 3 pick finished second in the voting for the NFL MVP award.
Maye threw for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He rushed for 450 yards and four touchdowns, leading the New England Patriots to an AFC East championship and Super Bowl appearance.
Still, Maye showed issues with his play in the postseason. The Patriots won the AFC championship by beating backup Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham 10-7.
Maye and the Patriots were badly outplayed 29-13 by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. While the young quarterback played under duress for much of the Super Bowl, he missed open receivers even when he had time to throw.
Tom E. Curran of NBC Boston wrote about a few disappointments he had about Maye from last season. He thinks Maye needs to work on taking care of the ball and not taking as many sacks next season.
"Ball security. Too many sacks. The personal panic button, which remained untouched for so many weeks, got slammed a few times in the playoffs," Curran wrote. "Maye’s playoff passing drop-off -- which was mitigated a great deal by his running -- couldn’t be overcome in the Super Bowl.
"When defenses and pass rushes improve, simple logic dictates it’s going to get harder. But the postseason really shined a light on where Maye needs to improve individually, and where the Patriots need to improve as a whole."
The Patriots hope to improve the offensive line in the offseason. It remains to be seen if New England keeps Will Campbell at left tackle.
Still, the former Tar Heels signal-caller has to learn to get the ball out of his hands faster.
"Maye actually improved his ball-handling a lot in the regular season," Curran wrote. "He had eight fumbles in 12 starts in ’24 compared to nine in 17 starts in ‘25.
"But he had seven in four postseason games. He also took 47 regular-season sacks and an absurd 21 sacks in the postseason (14.89 sack percentage after an 8.72 number during the season)."
The Super Bowl was a lesson for Maye and a young Patriots team. It's one they'll need to heed, because the schedule in 2026 will be much harder than 2025.