Patriots Star Drake Maye Named 8th-Best NFL QB Heading Into Week 8

NFL.com named New England Patriots star Drake Maye the 8th-best QB in the league heading into Week 8. 

In seven games this season, Maye has 1,784 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. He needs to protect the ball better. Otherwise, the Patriots will not make the playoffs. 

Next up for New England is a matchup against the 1-5 Miami Dolphins. Maye and Co. should win that game easily. 

Maye enters the Patriots-Dolphins game with 8,454 passing yards and 59 touchdown passes in New England's regular season. Following in the footsteps of Tom Brady is nearly impossible, as Brady won six Super Bowls with the Patriots. 

However, Maye has carried himself well and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL campaign. Everything he learned at UNC has paid off.

Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford won the MVP award last season over Maye, who led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season. The UNC product finished the 2025 regular season with 4,394 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns while completing 72.0% of his passes.

Maye entered this season with 6,670 passing yards and 46 passing touchdowns. It's puzzling why he's thrown so many interceptions this season. That needs to change moving forward. 

Against the Chicago Bears in Week 7, Maye went 24-of-31 through the air for 321 passing yards. He threw two touchdowns and one interception and ran for a touchdown.

Despite Maye's stellar game, the Patriots lost to the Bears by a final score of 30-24. New England is 4-3 heading into Week 7. Maye and Co. lost three games all of last season when they went to the Super Bowl and lost to the Seattle Seahawks. 

Patriots WR A.J. Brown missed his first practice since returning from injured reserve on Oct. 14. It came one day after he was listed on the injury report with a new knee ailment in addition to his previously injured right ankle.

Brown had a knee issue that has flared up and his status for Sunday's game against the Dolphins is up in the air. 

Brown had addressed reporters before practice on Wednesday, acknowledging that he was still working through his return from a right high ankle sprain sustained in the season opener, but wasn't making excuses for his limited production since coming back and playing two games in five days.

Brown played 102 snaps in two games, totaling six catches for 75 yards, and had three dropped passes. He said he felt some of the same explosion he had before the injury but acknowledged that it wasn't there at other times and that he's "pushing through."

The Patriots probably won't need Brown to beat the Dolphins. However, to win the Super Bowl, Brown needs to get healthy and play like the star he is.