Two of the NFL’s best deep-ball passers are squaring off on Sunday in the sort of matchup that should be must-see TV. Drake Maye and Jordan Love are carrying the torch once lit by the likes of Brett Favre and John Elway into the next generation of the NFL.
There’s just one problem: Maye looks like he could be without a few of his top weapons for yet another Sunday.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown missed his third consecutive practice in front of the media Wednesday (excluding walkthroughs over the weekend) as he manages a knee flare-up sustained during practice last Wednesday. Tight end Hunter Henry, Maye’s top pass-catcher leading into Week 8, didn’t practice after sustaining a foot injury in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins. Running back and 2025 second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson has now missed six days with an undisclosed illness. Receiver Romeo Doubs remains on injured reserve until at least Week 12.
Meanwhile, Love has a dynamic duo in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, plus tight end Tucker Kraft.
A word to the injury gods: this just isn’t fair.
Love has a slight edge over Maye in intended air yards per throw (9.5 compared to 9.3), while Maye leads the entire league in completed air yards per completion at 7.6.
These two quarterbacks will only see one another once every four years, outside of preseason matchups or a Super Bowl appearance. Safety and team captain Kevin Byard called the game a “measuring stick” for where the 5-3 Patriots stand, but how does one evaluate a team so hampered by skill-position injuries?
Last week, Maye faced a lowly Dolphins team with just DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams as receivers. Rookie Eli Raridon was the other lone pass catcher, in addition to running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Maye was nearly perfect, (granted, against one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL).
Brown’s injury is the most troubling for the Patriots, who surrendered significant draft capital for the 29-year-old and made him a focal point of the offense all summer. The 2026 season has been a matter of regrouping ever since he landed on IR after Week 1, forcing the offense to play with one arm tied behind its back for most of the year. The best-case scenario is that Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is being ultra-cautious with a player who could be pivotal in the playoffs. The worst-case scenario is that the Brown deal goes down as another botched wide receiver trade in a league full of them.
On the bright side, Maye got long-limbed receiver Mack Hollins back from IR on Wednesday. Hollins didn’t feel like talking to reporters in the locker room before his first practice back, but he looked like his usual boisterous self in warm-ups and should provide a major boost in both the passing and blocking games.
This column isn’t meant to make preemptive excuses if Love is launching 25-yard strikes while Maye is forced to methodically matriculate down the field on Sunday. Maye has consistently done more with less; it’s simply disappointing that the injury bug may rob viewers of fireworks. Vrabel made it clear following the Patriots’ latest victory that his expectations for Maye transcend whoever suits up alongside him.
“You want to be a great quarterback in the National Football League, there’s not a whole lot of excuses. You go out there and you find ways to win for your football team,” he said. “I know that that’s who he is and what he wants to continue to be. He throws to the open guy, and controls our offense, and gets guys in the right spots. That’s called being one of the best quarterbacks in the league. That’s what the job description requires.”
