Despite coming off a 20-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which the Patriots had complete control, some of the commentary and discussion surrounding the team may make it feel like they lost.
Why?
The play of quarterback Drake Maye.
Through two games, the Patriots’ second-year quarterback has struggled enough that some of his numbers are comparable to veteran backup Cooper Rush. Maye and Rush currently lead the league with four interceptions, while they’re also tied with five others for the fewest touchdown passes with one.
Rush, of course, was forced into action because of injuries to Atlanta’s other quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa. He has struggled so badly that Robert Griffin III, who hasn’t played in the league since 2020, is wondering why he can’t get another shot.
When Cooper Rush and Jack Strand are stinking it up in Atlanta it makes zero sense that QBs like Cam Newton, Jimmy Garoppolo, Ryan Tannehill and myself aren’t the veteran presence in the room to stabilize teams when their QB goes down. These guys were playing for Carolina today.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 20, 2026
Maye hasn’t been that bad, although he is currently on pace for 3,281 passing yards, 8.5 passing touchdowns, and 34 interceptions this season. Those numbers obviously aren’t going to look like that at the end of the season. It’s a two-game sample size.
But through two games, the numbers are what they are, and the eye test reveals a pretty significant departure from what we saw last season.
Everybody remembers. The 24-year-old put together a breakout campaign in 2025, completing a league-best 72.0% of his passes, a Patriots team record, for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. He also led the NFL in passer rating (113.5) and QBR (77.1), ultimately finishing as the MVP runner-up after receiving 24 of 50 first-place votes, and could’ve won it. It was the closest MVP race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003.
It goes without saying that the Patriots will need more from Maye if they want to reach the heights they did last season again this year. They’ll need him to get back to, or at least close to, the level he was at a year ago.
And inside the locker room, the belief is that he can.
“I don’t know what they’re concerned about. Is he sick or something?” wide receiver Mack Hollins said. “My faith in Drake ain’t changed. He a gunslinger. He throw the rock.”
Added Will Campbell, “I think nobody in here is wavering their confidence in what he can do. Not really paying much attention to the outside world. Our number one goal is to win the game.”
To accomplish that goal, they need more from the offense.
Through two games, the Patriots have scored just two offensive touchdowns, the same amount as the Miami Dolphins. The only offenses with fewer are the Steelers and Falcons, each with one.
Not great company, and certainly not where you would expect this offense to be in the second year of the Maye and Josh McDaniels partnership.
“I think we’re finding ourselves,” Maye said of the offense. “I think every time you get into a new season with new guys, new players, and you’re battling injuries, every team in the league is trying to improve. Really for us, it’s about finding ourselves.”
Maybe they are getting closer.
After all, there were some positive trends on offense Sunday, starting with the explosive plays.
The Patriots had six plays of at least 24 yards, including four of 29-plus. They had zero plays of 20-plus yards in Week 1 in Seattle.
Still, they had only 13 points to show for it.
Maye acknowledged that while there are plays to be made, the offense needs to do a better job of taking advantage of them.
“I’m happy with the guys, how we practice, and how we are trying to approach practice. It’s really changing that and realizing how much that can translate to the games. So, finding ourselves, but at the same time, we have plays that are there, and realizing that execution and extra effort are what we talk about in the offensive room, really making them go,” Maye said. “Realizing that coaches can call the plays, but we’ve got to make them go, and realizing that you only get so many chances in the game. You only get to hit them once. So, realizing that and taking advantage of them.”
The Patriots got away with a win on Sunday thanks to the defense tormenting the corpse of Aaron Rodgers. That won’t be the case every week, especially with Jacksonville and Buffalo next up on the schedule.
They will need more from their offense, and it starts with the quarterback, who, in his eyes, is getting a clean slate in Week 3.
“One of the best things about getting new chances every week is having to let the other ones go,” Maye said. “That’s one of the best things about this sport and playing this position. You’ve got to let plays go, and you want to be attacking the next play, learning from the ones in the past and getting after the next one.”
