The New England Patriots' 42-10 win over the New York Jets aided Drake Maye in reaching rarefied with NFL greats due to his newest accomplishment on the field.
It seems that every week, Drake Maye ends a game making headlines in a stunning fashion. Sunday afternoon's 42-10 win over the New York Jets was no exception.
The Patriots' 2024 third overall pick had a QBR of 99.8, a 90.5% completion percentage, 256 passing yards, and went 19 of 21 with five touchdowns.
Maye didn’t even play a full four quarters, as head coach Mike Vrabel sat him at the end of the third.
The dominant performance also helped Maye reach an impressive milestone: 4,000 passing yards in a single season. This stat almost perfectly encapsulates how the Patriots organization, team, and fan base view him as their young signal caller.
Pretty cool, right? It doesn't end there.
Only two other Patriot quarterbacks have ever done this: Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady. Bledsoe accomplished this twice in his career with New England. Brady would do it a mere 11 times in his 20-year career wearing a Patriots uniform.
When speaking to the media, Maye had a subtle "wow" after hearing the news.
"Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm in the conversation with them two," Maye humbly told reporters. "Those are probably the two best in Patriots (history)."
The gap between when Brady left for Tampa Bay and when Maye showed signs of poise in the pocket felt short to many non-Patriot fans, but to Pats nation, it's felt like decades. So much so that Maye's 4,000 passing yards were last achieved by Brady back in 2019, his last season suiting up in a New England jersey.
Two add to the Brady and Maye comparisons: Maye now has 30 touchdown passes, something Brady did back in 2017, the year the GOAT would win his last league MVP.
With MVP chants for the 23-year-old whose sophomore surge has been incredible, you have to wonder if these comparisons are going to pay off for Maye in the postseason somehow. Maye’s 71.7 completion percentage would be the seventh-highest single season in NFL history. His passer rating was capped off this afternoon with an unreal 157.0, and kept the Patriots a perfect 8-0 on the road this season.
With the Buffalo Bills losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in a thriller in Western New York, the Patriots now clinch the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. They now sit on the verge of the number one seed if they can get a win over the Miami Dolphins and the Broncos' loss to the Chargers next week.
With the division in hand now, there's a chance that Vrabel pulls Maye again in Week 18 to keep him rested for the postseason run.