Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s performance in the first three weeks of the season led to a lot of questions about what was wrong with a player who ended the 2025 season as the runner-up in MVP voting.
Maye’s seven turnovers during the 1-2 start were the chief reason for concern and he had two more of them against the Bills on Sunday, but they weren’t the center of attention. Maye balanced those miscues with three touchdowns, including a pass that Efton Chism reeled in with one hand to win the game with 1:50 left to play in Buffalo.
Maye was 22-of-37 for 269 yards and he ran eight times for 54 yards in a performance that looked a lot more like what the Patriots had come to expect from Maye during their run to the Super Bowl last year.
“We definitely have to build off it,” Maye said in his postgame press conference. “This is relieving a little bit. . . . Put us a step in the right direction. It’s ever week in the NFL, you get a chance to — the highs and the lows and coach always says don’t ride the rollercoaster. That’s what we’re going to buy into and know we have a lot of work left to do.”
The Patriots might like to have a better record that 2-2, but there are worse places to be given the way they played in September. If they can keep Maye on track, it won’t take long to put memories of that rocky start to bed once and for all.