Drake Maye Continued Rising MVP Trajectory in Patriots’ Win Over Dolphins

Drake Maye has been the rising tide that lifts all boats for the New England Patriots (5-3) through eight regular season contests. 

New England’s latest win over the Miami Dolphins was a microcosm of his impact on the Patriots; severely shorthanded along the offensive line, out wide, and in the backfield, Maye’s ability to elevate those around him to new heights was fully on display. And this was just one in a line of many that saw Maye personally take control and will his team to victory. 

Even on a limited number of total dropbacks, Maye played a near flawless game. He finished the contest 16-of-20 passing (80.0% completion percentage) with 204 total yards, three total touchdowns, a passer rating of 141.5, and an EPA/play of +0.42. When New England was staring down the barrel of a 10-point halftime deficit, he was at his best — completing 9-of-10 passes with 146 yards, two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and an EPA/pass of +0.93 in the second half. 

Maye’s performance after the break quickly flipped the script from a 13-3 hole to a 24-13 advantage in just 11:44 of game time for the Patriots. Showcasing elite efficiency and continued excellence, Maye was the catalyst of New England’s most recent victory, following a trend that had been well established throughout his MVP-caliber 2025 campaign and renewed over his last five outings. 

Here’s a closer look at how Maye dissected Miami’s defense to lift the Patriots to victory:

In an attempt to slow Maye’s post-snap processing, the Dolphins followed a very similar pre-snap approach to what New England saw from the Chicago Bears in Week 7, walking several additional second-and-third level defenders up into the box at the line of scrimmage to present a variety of pressure looks. 

Last week, Chicago used those additional bodies in the pass-rush plan frequently, blitzing Maye on 47.2% of his total dropbacks in the game and generating pressure at a 38.9% rate (per PFF). But that wasn’t what Miami had in mind once the ball was snapped. 

Entering Week 8, the Dolphins ranked 24th in the NFL in blitz rate, sending additional rushers on just 24.7% of opposing dropbacks. In doing so, they only generated six sacks on the season, the lowest mark in the NFL. 

Against the Patriots, Miami’s four-man rush was highly effective in the first half. With Walter Rouse (left guard) and Matt Pryor (right guard) starting for the second consecutive week, the Dolphins were able to generate pressure on 57% of Maye’s first half dropbacks while blitzing just once. They sacked Maye twice.

In the second half, the Patriots swapped Rouse for Ben Brown — who was available for the first time in two weeks with a knee injury — and the results were markedly better. Even with a higher blitz rate in the final 30 minutes, Miami was only able to generate pressure on four total dropbacks. 

Here’s how Maye performed against the Dolphins’ pass-rush (per PFF):

Maye’s performance under pressure has been a sticking point of his turnaround over the last five weeks. His improved pocket presence, navigation, and mobility have been obvious areas of growth — and have revealed themselves much more consistently than ever before. 

Since the beginning of October, Maye has completed 35-of-57 passing attempts (61.4%) with 489 yards (8.6 yards per attempt), six touchdowns, no interceptions, a passer rating of 124.1, and an EPA/play of +0.20 when under pressure. His 90.7 PFF grade when under pressure ranks number one among all NFL quarterbacks during that span.

When opponents have brought extra rushers to rattle him, he’s been even more impressive. Over the last five games, Maye has completed 41-of-61 passing attempts (67.2%) with 688 yards (11.3 yards per attempt), seven touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 136.5, and an EPA/play of +0.40 against the blitz. His 91.6 PFF grade when blitzed is the highest mark among all NFL quarterbacks.

Pressure and blitzes have also unlocked Maye’s scrambling abilities. Through eight games, Maye ranks second in the league in quarterback scramble yards (219), fourth in scramble rate (9.7%), and has been much more selective about when to use his legs, versus when to find extra space to extend plays within the pocket and locate receivers downfield. Maye has lowered his pressure-to-sack rate to 9.2% in New England’s last five — highlighting his improved decision-making while creating plays out of structure. 

That was evident once again in Miami, as was his ability to pick apart coverages indiscriminately. 

As is typically the case with the Dolphins’ defense under head coach Jeff Hafley, Miami threw a wide variety of zone coverages at Maye. 

Keeping eyes on the quarterback, the Dolphins were able to contain Maye’s legs (eight carries, five yards, one touchdown, including three kneeldowns to end the game) — a staple of Miami’s defense through their first six games, when they allowed just 61 total yards on scrambles. 

But Maye didn’t need to rely on his scrambling to dissect the Dolphins deep. Regardless of what looks he got from their coverage shells downfield, Maye was hyper-efficient from within the pocket. 

Here’s how Maye held up against each coverage on Sunday evening (per SūmerSports):

Entering Week 8, Miami showed a slight preference toward running Cover 3. On 52 dropbacks, they allowed 33 completions on 47 attempts, 357 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opposing passer rating of 88.7. They showed a near-even split between their change-ups, with Cover 6 (35 dropbacks), Cover 1 (31 dropbacks), Cover 2 (30 dropbacks), and Cover 4 (28 dropbacks) all used interchangeably.

Those previous results aligned with what Maye was able to accomplish through the air. Continuing his recent triumphs against Cover 3, Maye was highly effective when the Dolphins chose to stick in the middle-field closed shell. Another in a string of five games with outstanding results, Maye has completed 38-of-53 passing attempts (71.7%) with 539 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions, a passer rating of 135.7, and an EPA/dropback of +0.252 against Cover 3 since the beginning of October.

Maye aggressively pushed the ball downfield against Miami when facing Cover 3, and was flawless when doing so. He attempted five passes of 10-plus air yards in the game and finished 5-of-5 with 149 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 158.3.

That also continued a recent hot streak for Maye. Over the last five games, Maye has completed 36-of-53 passes (67.9%) of his passes that have traveled 10-plus air yards, with 782 yards (14.75 yards per attempt), 10 touchdown passes, one interception, and a passer rating of 142.5.

Maye’s excellence against the Dolphins was the driving force behind the Patriots’ win, but wasn’t merely a single-game spectacle. Rather, it was the byproduct of several weeks worth of building confidence and stacking success. 

In the win, Maye accomplished several feats to bolster his growing résumé. 

He’s now extended his streak of consecutive games with at least three total touchdowns to five, and became the first player to hit that mark for New England since Tom Brady in 2007. Both of Maye’s touchdown passes were at least 40 yards, marking the first time since Brady in 2017 that a quarterback has thrown multiple 40-yard touchdown passes in a game for the franchise. In doing so, Maye also extended his NFL-best mark of 14 touchdown passes of at least 30-yards since the beginning of the 2025 regular season.

Maye has now held a passer rating of at least 100.0 in each of his last four outings, and his passer rating (129.9), EPA/play (+0.38), total touchdowns (14), yards per attempt (9.6), and offensive grade (93.5) all sit atop the league during that span. 

In short, Maye has been on fire as of late — and he’s played at that level with a revolving door of players around him. Without stable contributions from A.J Brown, Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins on injured reserve, third-string guards playing significant snaps along the offensive line, and Hunter Henry out of commission for the vast majority of Week 8, Maye has proven to be the constant — a player who elevates those around him to achieve great team success.

How would you characterize Maye’s performance in the Patriots’ win at Miami? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

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