Patriots' Drake Maye Shoots Up QB Ranking After Week 4 Breakout

The New England Patriots were able to grab a massive win on the road last week, taking down the rival Buffalo Bills.

Just when the Patriots looked dead in the water, New England came back to life against the Bills. Much of this had to do with the play from starting quarterback Drake Maye, who was able to breakout of his early-season slump.

For the better part of three weeks, Maye looked like a shell of himself from where he was a year ago. But against the Bills, Maye seemed to find something that clicked, and it allowed the Patriots to see more success.

Maye was the runner-up to the MVP award last season, making his struggles this season even more worrisome. But after a lot of work, the signal-caller was able to pull off a resurgence against the Bills when his team needed him most.

Due to his performance, Maye has now shot up a new quarterback ranking entering into Week 5 of the season. NFL.com analyst Nick Shook ranked all the quarterbacks in the league, with Maye coming in at No. 17, coming up 14 spots.

This is a massive jump for Maye, but it shows just how poorly he had played in the first few weeks. Against Buffalo, Maye threw for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Going forward, the Patriots are going to need Maye to play more like this, and if he can, this team can get back to being contenders in the AFC. New England reached the Super Bowl a year ago behind the strong play from Maye, and they were expected to be part of the conversation again this season.

The Patriots currently sit at 2-2 through the first four games, keeping them directly in the race, despite it being early in the year. There is a lot of time left in the season for New England to fully turn everything around, but it all starts with how Maye continues to play.

New England should be getting back star wide receiver A.J. Brown soon from injury, and this should give Maye a boost as well. But the signal-caller will have to limit the turnovers, giving the Patriots a true chance to win games.

If he can do this, another trip to the Super Bowl could be in the cards for the Patriots. But it remains to be seen if this performance from Maye was just for this past week, or if he can sustain this going forward.