In 2025, the New England Patriots turned rags into riches, winning 14 games with a fourth-place schedule to make it all the way to the Super Bowl, where they came up short to the Seattle Seahawks 29-13.

Reloading their roster with quality new offensive players like AJ Brown, Romeo Doubs, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Caleb Lomu, the Patriots went from averaging the second-most points and third-most yards per game in 2025 to 26th and 18th in 2026, with Drake Maye specifically looking decidedly less effective than during his breakout second NFL season.

Discussing what he's seen from Maye so far in 2026 on NFL Live, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky explained why he thinks the Patriots passer isn't throwing with the same confidence as 2025, as even his body language shows a player scared of making mistakes.

“He looks like a young man that's scared to make mistakes right now. And I think the play-calling is part of it,” Orlovsky said. “Unaggressive play-calling will create unaggressive play. And certainly thinking of what's the thing that I could do to not mess up. If you look at some of the throws that he's not making, that's more concerning than some of the throws he is making.”

Look at Maye’s right foot

I’ll always remember a coach saying “never take their stinger away”#nfllive @Patriots pic.twitter.com/saZZTJoN1h

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 22, 2026

“So this is kind of that wide leap. Just pay attention to the tight end on the bottom hash, okay? Ball fake. Look at Drake's feet at the top of the drop, okay? Just watch his feet. Does that look like a guy that's confident in what he's looking at? Absolutely not. The tight end is wide open. That's the number one of the play. We're designing the play for him. And you guys have heard me say, look at the right foot of the quarterback. Does it look like he's planting in the ground with conviction down in the red zone? This is actually a good design,” Orlovsky explained.

“Pay attention to the tight end on the hash crossing left to right. Now pay attention to Drake Maye. Top of his drop. It's a three-man rush. He's already running. The tight end is going to pop wide open. By the time the tight end looks back, Drake Maye has already slid down. And so when I'm watching him, it's like a young man right now that is thinking what's not the wrong, don't do the wrong thing. Worrying about making mistake and trying to see what the defense is, the easiest thing that the defense is giving to him rather than being convicted and confident in his throw.”

In Week 1, Maye tried to air it out with some regularity but struggled with his decision-making, throwing three interceptions on 33 attempts against a Seahawks defense that is among the best in the NFL. While the Patriots were able to secure the win in Week 2, as Orlovsky noted, New England's offense looked far more reserved against the Pittsburgh Steelers, throwing another pick without a touchdown while the running game largely led the way to the win. If the Patriots are going to get where they want to be, Maye will have to return to his 2025 form, otherwise, New England's first-place schedule could end without another playoff berth.