Drake Maye’s 2026 NFL season couldn’t have gotten off to a rougher start, but he’s turned the ship around with his performance in back-to-back wins.
Maye’s Patriots went 1-2 through the first three weeks of the season, and he was a huge slice of the proverbial blame pie. He recorded just one touchdown during that span, but committed seven turnovers.
Through the last two games, however, Maye has had seven touchdowns and just two turnovers. He played a clean game against the 3-1 Las Vegas Raiders Sunday at Gillette.
When asked how he weathered the early adversity of the season and the criticism that came along with it during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Rich, Ken, and Ted, Maye reflected on his experience and closest relationships.
“The biggest thing for me was just knowing the work that you put in and trusting that, not losing sight of that,” Maye said. “I think there’s going to be so many different viewpoints, and what people thinks going on, and what happening.”
“I really think it’s just between yourself and your confidence in yourself, and knowing when things aren’t going your way, and you feel like you’re not playing as good of football as you wish or you feel like you can, you just got to dig dip and trust the people around you and trust the circle around you,” he continued. “Value the opinions of people you trust. That’s the biggest thing in this position, and in sports growing up. Value what your parents say, close teammates, and even your coaches.”
Maye won AFC Offensive Player of the Week after the Patriots took down the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills at home in Week 4. After just the second game of his career in which he threw for over 300 yards, he looks like he has a good shot at winning that honor again.
“More times than not, when you put enough work [in] and you play at a high level, things will come back around,” Maye said.
