The 2026 season has kicked off with more of a whimper than a bang for Drake Maye, which has to disappoint after his lights-out sophomore season. The Patriots quarterback has tallied just one touchdown and four interceptions through these first two weeks, and tallied 386 passing yards, compared to three touchdowns, one interception, and 517 passing yards through two games in 2025.
Maye hasn’t been a disaster in this small sample size, but he hasn’t looked like an MVP runner-up, either. How much of his early sluggishness relates to his Super Bowl 60 loss, and what will this season tell us about his trajectory going forward? Let’s turn to a decade’s worth of Super Bowl losing quarterbacks, as Maye became the eighth starting quarterback of the last 10 years to lose his Super Bowl debut. The subsequent season each of those guys played was enlightening when looked back upon in hindsight.
By the way, only one quarterback who lost his Super Bowl debut in that timespan has made it back: Philadelphia Eagles starter Jalen Hurts.
First, here’s where Maye set the mark as a passer last season through 17 games: 4,484 air yards with a whopping 8.9 yards per attempt, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Maye was also dynamic with his legs and rushed for 450 yards and four touchdowns in 2025.
Quite the performance to live up to. How did his peers fare in this situation?
The one who got better
Joe Burrow is still chasing the success of his 2021 season, but in many ways, he was even more dynamic following his loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56. Playing in back-to-back 16 seasons, Burrow’s passing touchdowns ticked up by one and his interceptions dropped from 14 to 12. He took 10 fewer sacks while utilizing his legs more, increasing his rushing touchdowns from two to five and improving from 118 rushing yards to 257. His overall yards and completion percentage wavered slightly, but remained comparable, while his team improved their record to 12-4. His yards per attempt were a Maye-esque 8.9 in 2021, and fell to 7.4 in 2022.
Steady-Eddie QBs
Similar to Maye, Jalen Hurts was an MVP runner-up in 2022. He followed up that season with a Pro Bowler-level performance that featured a noticeable uptick in interceptions. While he threw for more yards, (3,858 compared to 3,701), and one more touchdown, his picked-off passes jumped from six in 2022 to 15 the following year. His completion percentage held steady, while his rushing yards dropped, but rushing touchdowns rose by two. The Eagles finished 11-6 in 2023.
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 30: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers passes the ball against the Detroit Lions at Levi's Stadium on December 30, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Although 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s stats were mostly comparable between his 2023 Super Bowl-driving season and 2024, he was much less dangerous getting the ball in the endzone as a passer. His touchdowns dropped from 31 to 20, but his interception numbers were quite similar at 11 to 12, respectively. Like Burrow, Purdy relied much more heavily on his scrambling and rushing ability after the Super Bowl. He had five rushing touchdowns, compared to two the year prior, and more than doubled his overall rushing yards. Purdy missed one game in 2024, and the 49ers went 6-11, despite his solid performance.
Jared Goff’s Super Bowl-following season in 2019 would be one of his last with the Los Angeles Rams. His completion percentage and passing yards were eerily similar through 16 games, (64.9% and 62.9%, and 4,688 vs. 4,638), but he threw 10 fewer touchdowns and four more interceptions. His yards per attempt also dropped from 8.4 to 7.4. The Rams finished the season a pedestrian 9-7.
Quarterback crashes
Here’s where things get scary. Let’s start with Jimmy Garoppolo, who nearly reached 4,000 passing yards in his Super Bowl 55 regular season campaign. He threw 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions that year. In 2020, injury cut his season to just six starts, and he had already reached his career peak.
Matt Ryan suffered one of the most devastating Super Bowl losses against the Patriots in 2017, and in the season that followed, he looked like he hadn’t recovered. His passing yards dropped by almost 900, his completion rate dropped by nearly 5 points, his touchdowns went from 37 to 20, and his interceptions jumped from 7 to 12. His yards per attempt also fell from an outstanding 9.3 to 7.7. The 2016 league MVP led the Falcons to a 10-6 year, and they haven’t had a winning season since.
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons evades the sack by Mario Addison #97 of the Carolina Panthers during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Cam Newton missed just one game in the season following his Super Bowl loss, but much of his production fell off during that 2016 year. His completion percentage dropped almost seven points, and while his passing yards were somewhat similar, his overall passing touchdowns cratered from 35 to 19, while his interceptions climbed from 10 to 14. More jarringly, his rushing yards dropped from 636 to 359, and his rushing touchdowns were cut in half. His Carolina Panthers finished 6-10.
And Maye?
So, what to expect with Maye? The biggest concern this year must be picks. Only two of these quarterbacks decreased their interceptions season-over-season, and it’s unrealistic to expect another eight-pick season from Maye, (again, he already has four). Should Maye keep that number in the very low double-digits, however, he keeps his team in a solid position.
Trends also suggest Maye won’t have the deep ball this year he did last year. It makes sense: the league adjusts to a quarterback’s play style after having a complete season and postseason’s worth of tape of him. His completion percentage, (72%), is also going to be tough to replicate, especially with star A.J. Brown out for several weeks.
One area in which Maye could help his offense improve this season is the red zone. The Patriots’ offense ranked 17th in touchdown conversions in 2025 and 24th in scoring efficiency when in the red zone. That leaves a lot of opportunity for Maye to get better, and his legs could be the answer – just as it was for Burrow after his Super Bowl loss. The Bengals improved from 17th in red zone offense in 2021 to 7th in 2022.
