Drake Maye has been compared to Tom Brady almost all season long, and yet, after his first playoff win, the comparisons get strikingly closer.
There is a reason Patriots fans love Drake Maye. It's because, despite having two decades with Tom Brady, they have accepted that he's gone now. Although his statue sits outside the stadium, Brady is also a minority owner of another NFL team and is building a new career in broadcasting. His connection to the Pats, although positive, still seems to be a slight distance if you really dwell on it.
They needed something to have hope for as Brady becomes a thing of the past, and they got it in Maye.
There's a standard in New England created by Brady, and since his departure in early 2020, nobody, not even Bill Belichick, it seemed, could live up to it. Maye has entered the scene and seems to be living up to it, all the while still separating himself from the days in the dynasty as he plays football in the house that Tom built.
Despite forging a new path with the guidance of head coach Mike Vrabel, the Brady comparisons will always be there. Case in point: his postseason debut this past Sunday night.
In the 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Drake Maye went 17 for 29 for 268 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception in his much-anticipated postseason debut.
The 23-year-old signal caller did not play a perfect game, but he got the job done and had a solid defensive front to back him up, sacking Justin Herbert six times.
You know who had a similar playoff debut in terms of stats? Tom Brady.
In the infamous "Tuck Rule" game, Brady would have a total of 328 yards; Maye would have 334 if you included his rush yards. Brady has a 61.5 completion percentage; Maye's was 58.6%. Both had one interception and one touchdown.
Maye would get a win with 16 total points for the Pats, so would Brady when leading the team to a 16-13 overtime win over the Oakland Raiders in the snow at old Foxborough Stadium.
Maye has reached numbers that vintage Brady achieved in seasons that got the GOAT to a Super Bowl, some of which he actually would win.
The comparisons are going to be there for a while for Maye when it comes to the man who put the Patriots on the map. That's not necessarily a bad thing if it means they have a game in February.