What Went Wrong for Drake Maye in Patriots' Loss to Packers?

Throughout the 2026 regular season, the New England Patriots’ (5-4) have gone as Drake Maye has gone. 

When Maye has been playing at an elite level, New England has enjoyed great team success. When he’s been forced into mistakes, results like the Patriots’ 45-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers (6-3) on Sunday have followed. Maye’s greatest strengths over the course of the past month turned into his greatest weaknesses on Sunday: his decision-making, pocket navigation, and performance under pressure.

Amidst a slew of turnovers and unrelenting pressure, Maye finished the game 21-of-38 passing (55.2%) with 299 passing yards (7.9 yards per attempt), three touchdowns, three interceptions, a passer rating of 74.3, and an EPA/play of -0.13. He showed resilience in bouncing back from the early transgressions of the first half, but ultimately built too large a deficit to overcome.

Here’s a closer look at what went wrong for Maye in New England’s loss to Green Bay:

Maye’s performance under pressure had been one of his greatest assets through a five-game turnaround from Weeks 4-8. In the face of a Packers’ pass-rush that brought blitzers from a multitude of different alignments and at a high frequency, it became a fatal flaw. 

Since the beginning of October, Maye 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 during that span ranked number one among all NFL quarterbacks.

When opponents brought extra rushers, he was even more impressive. Over the last five games, Maye 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 under pressure during that span ranked number one among all NFL quarterbacks.

Here’s how Maye performed against the Green Bay pass-rush in Week 9 (per PFF):

The Packers used a litany of different blitz packages that heavily featured linebackers and safety Evan Williams (eight pass-rush reps, four pressures) to attack the weak side of New England’s front. They did so with resounding success.

Maye was blitzed on 20 of his 43 total dropbacks in the game (46.5%, per PFF), and completed 6-of-16 passing attempts (37.5%) with 61 passing yards (3.8 yards per attempt), no touchdowns, one interception, three sacks, and a passer rating of 50.8. When under pressure (20 dropbacks, 46.5%), Maye completed 6-of-15 passing attempts (40.0%) with 86 passing yards (5.7 yards per attempt), no touchdowns, no interceptions, four sacks, and a passer rating of 59.3.

Facing a pressure package that got home on nearly half of Maye’s total dropbacks, his fortitude was put to the test — as was his decisiveness against a constantly changing coverage picture behind it.

Maye’s transgressions came early and often, but were forced — in large part — by waves of unrelenting pressure and post-snap coverage changes by an aggressive Green Bay defense that made the quarterback question everything he was seeing downfield.

Entering Week 9, the Packers ranked fifth in defensive EPA/play (-0.12) and EPA/pass (-0.12), allowing the fourth-lowest yards-per-attempt (6.22), fifth-lowest ADoT (6.73), and registering the fifth-most pass breakups in the league (43). Green Bay allowed the 10th-fewest points per game (20.5) and eighth-fewest passing yards per game (204.0) while facing the sixth-highest number of attempts per game (35.5). Their 15 total takeaways topped the NFL, and their 10 interceptions ranked second. On Sunday, they added three more interceptions to that total, and one fumble recovery.

Even with their elite rankings, the Packers’ preferred coverage shells seemed to play to the strengths of Maye as a passer.

Through eight games, Green Bay ran Cover 4 (84 dropbacks, per SūmerSports) more than any other coverage against the pass, allowing 50 completions on 77 attempts (64.9%), with 462 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, an opposing passer rating of 83.4, and an EPA/dropback of -0.08. That was closely followed by a heavy use of Cover 3 (72 dropbacks) and Cover 2 (66 dropbacks) as their most frequent change-ups. 

When running Cover 3, the Packers allowed 43 completions on 63 attempts (68.3%) with 507 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 85.9, and an EPA/dropback of -0.12. In Cover 2, they allowed 35 completions on 58 attempts (60.3%) with 313 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions, a passer rating of 53.3, and an EPA/dropback of -0.29. 

On Maye’s end of the tale of the tape, he had seen Cover 3 more than any other coverage this season, and completed 51-of-75 passing attempts (68.0%) with 679 passing yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions, a passer rating of 107.6, and an EPA/dropback of +0.12. Against Cover 4, he completed 28-of-37 passing attempts (75.7%) with 311 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, a passer rating of 115.9, and an EPA/dropback of +0.14. When facing Cover 2, he completed 26-of-32 passing attempts (81.3%) with 270 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, a passer rating of 101.8, and an EPA/dropback of +0.23.

Here’s how Maye held up against each of Green Bay’s coverages on Sunday evening (per SūmerSports):

The Packers bucked several trends for Maye on Sunday evening, all while using their usual rotation of Cover 3, Cover 4, and Cover 2. While he had previously been most effective against those coverages, they were his most inefficient areas against Green Bay. Cover 3 (-0.856 EPA/play) and Cover 4 (-0.390 EPA/play) were his clear soft spots, and aligned with the most frequently called coverages for the Packers on the night and on the season.

Rather than continuing his offensive success, Green Bay’s defense forced Maye to regress to the mean while playing their preferred coverage shells at a typical rate. The Packers also used a strategy that has previously given Maye troubles — rotating their safeties into different alignments post-snap on 47.8% of plays — the fifth-highest mark in the NFL in Week 9 (per SūmerSports). That worked well once again, forcing Maye to hold onto the football and decipher the coverage changes post-snap while the rush began to generate pressure.

Slowing Maye’s processing was an effective strategy, and led to a lack of confidence in identifying the soft spots in coverage even when he didn’t face heat in the pocket. When Maye was kept clean, he completed 15-of-23 passing attempts (65.2%) with 213 passing yards (9.3 yards per attempt), three touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 95.0.

Facing an increasingly large deficit, Maye continued to push the ball downfield with an Average Depth of Target (ADoT) of 12.5 yards in the game — sometimes to the team’s benefit, and sometimes to its detriment. Safeties Xavier McKinney (two) and Evan Williams (one) each snagged at least one interception on Maye passing attempts that traveled more than 10 air yards. 

Maye especially struggled in the intermediate area of the field. On short throws of 0-9 air yards, Maye completed 13-of-14 passing attempts (92.9%) with 115 yards (8.2 yards per attempt), one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 124.7. On deep throws of 20-plus air yards, he completed 6-of-10 passes (60.0%) with 170 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 104.2. On intermediate throws of 10-19 air yards, Maye completed just one of seven passing attempts (14.3%) with 10 passing yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 0.0. 

Green Bay’s success against Maye and the Patriots offense wasn’t due to any one coverage or blitz scheme. Rather, it was a combination of several factors that frequently changed throughout the game. The Packers’ pressure, safety rotations, and excellent awareness in coverage made life difficult all evening for Maye, but he didn’t escape the loss without some positives amidst an otherwise grim showing.

Even through several blunders against Green Bay, Maye’s resilience was apparent. He was once again the lone source of offense for New England in a game script that skewed heavily in the favor of the passing attack (46 pass plays, 15 run plays called) because of the deficit. His interception total was matched by three passing touchdowns, marking the sixth consecutive game in which Maye has accounted for at least three total touchdowns — the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Tom Brady, 2007, 10 games).

Maye also extended his NFL-leading mark of 15 30-plus yard touchdown passes since the start of the 2025 season with his 30-yard touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson in the second quarter. His 8,952 career passing yards passed Mac Jones (8,918) for seventh place in Patriots’ franchise history, and his 64 touchdown passes passed Jim Plunkett for fifth. 

Maye’s highs and lows on Sunday evening detracted from the team’s success as much as he added to it, and as a result, he was one of the major contributing factors in the loss. New England will need much greater consistency from him against the league’s top competition as the playoff hunt heats up.

How would you characterize Maye’s performance in the Patriots’ loss to the Packers? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and join the conversation on Patriots Roundtable.

–

Follow Eddie on Patriots Roundtable

Recent Articles:

- All-22 Review: Drake Maye’s Three Interceptions in Patriots’ Loss to Packers

- 10 Key Takeaways from the New England Patriots’ Blowout Loss to Green Bay Packers

- What to Watch For: New England Patriots Offense vs. Green Bay Packers Defense | Week 9 2026

- What to Watch For: New England Patriots Defense vs. Green Bay Packers Offense | Week 9 2026

Check out the Patriots Roundtable Podcast!

YouTube

Spotify

Apple Podcasts