🔗 Share this article

It's hard not to sympathize with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears. These teams have spent decades in quarterback purgatory, cycling between prospects and temporary starters. In contrast, after only half a decade of searching, the New England Patriots – the post-Tom Brady Patriots – appear to have found the guy.

Five years. From Brady to Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Bailey Zappe to Maye’s first choppy season to this: a young quarterback who looks like a top-five starter and Most Valuable Player contender.

Last week was his breakout: a victory away in Buffalo, where Maye matched throws with Josh Allen and surpassed the current MVP in the fourth quarter. But Sunday in New Orleans may have been even more impressive. Fresh off an upset win over the division favorites, a visit to a lousy Saints team had potential for a letdown. And the Saints teased an upset. They executed a big play on the opening snap of the game, before faltering in the redzone and opting for a three points. It took Maye all of four plays to answer, uncorking a long pass to DeMario Douglas for the go-ahead score.

Drake Maye connects with Pop Douglas on a 53-yard bomb!

It was Maye in peak form, navigating the protection to deliver a strike downfield. From there, he didn’t let up: Maye torched the Saints in all parts of the field. His opening two quarters was so searing that even North Carolina was compelled to post. He ended 18-of-26 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. And it might have been better if not for a trio of questionable officiating calls.

It was his fifth consecutive outing with at least 200 yards and a QB rating above 100. Only the Chiefs' star, Dak Prescott, and the Hall of Famer have achieved that at 23 years old or less.

The top QBs turn difficult road games into routine victories. They don’t put the ball in harm’s way, keep the offense chugging and make the decisive throws on crucial downs. The Patriots needed every bit of Maye's flawless play to squeeze by the Saints. They struggled on the ground against a stout front. Their defense allowed multiple chunk plays. This was a contest decided by Maye's passing. And he performed under pressure.

Maye took hits a several times and sacked once, but the pressure he faced was continuous. It didn’t matter. Maye threw all three scoring throws while pressured, with each traveling 20 yards or more in the flight.

It's beyond statistics. It’s how Maye carries himself. He’s self-assured and calm in the pocket, bouncing through reads to find open targets. When necessary, he can run and improvise on the ground. As a first-year player, he was a somewhat erratic, escaping pressure at the first sign of trouble. But this season, he’s been more like Brady, adapting to the structure of the scheme and delivering the ball where it needs to go in a hurry.

This year, Maye has 10 TD passes, two running scores and just two interceptions. He’s halved his risky play percentage from his debut season, when he was always attempting to conjure magic out of broken plays. Currently, he’s choosing wisely. He hasn’t committed a turnover-worthy play in three outings.

After college, Maye was touted as a big-armed bomber. Scouts questioned his ability to process sophisticated coverages and operate a complex offense. Overly casual. Too reckless. But Josh McDaniels, in his third tour as Patriots offensive coordinator, has unlocked the full breadth of his playbook. Maye isn’t being limited; he’s being trusted. The Patriots are evolving each week again, and Maye is leading the attack like an eight-year vet.

His development has accelerated the Patriots’ timeline. If there were to be second-year progress, you expected it would be a gradual process. There would still exist the highlight throws, while Maye spent the year trying to cut his brain-farts-per-game in half. That would be progress. Instead, Maye has smashed expectations. Six games into his second season, he’s become one of the league’s best – and he’s made the Patriots into playoff hopefuls again.

Bears fans will take some comfort in seeing the progress of Caleb Williams. But if you’re a Browns or Jets fan, you have to cringe. Because this is the ideal scenario when a franchise quarterback emerges. And for the rest of the league’s quarterback-starved franchises, it’s yet another reminder of how harsh and repetitive this game can be. The Patriots moved from the GOAT to a possible great in half a decade. Some teams spend a quarter of a century looking – and still don’t find a solution.

Finding a franchise QB is about more than victories. It changes the personality of a fanbase and organization. For 20 years, the Patriots enjoyed the gilded life. But the recent years have been about failing to build a transition from Tom Brady to the next era. They’ve discovered the solution today. Get ready for your New England pals to rediscover their championship confidence.

Player of the Week

JSN, wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks. Against a tough Jacksonville D, Seattle's sole option was for Sam Darnold to look for JSN, constantly. The receiver answered with eight catches for over 150 yards and a touchdown on 13 targets, as the Seahawks edged the Jags 20-12. The Seahawks' D led the way, hounding Trevor Lawrence and sacking him a season-high seven sacks. But it was JSN who carried the Seahawks’ offense, accounting for all the first 117 of the team's early yards via passing. That featured a 61-yard touchdown and perhaps the best route we’ll see from a receiver all year.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba just beat new Jaguars CB Greg Newsome on his first play with his new squad – a 61-yard TD.

Highlight of the Week

The Miami Dolphins were on the wrong side of another frustrating, last-minute loss. They gained a narrow lead over the Chargers with 48 seconds left, after Tua Tagovailoa found Darren Waller for his fourth touchdown of the season. The Chargers then popped a 40-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. Then, Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey seized control.

WILD PLAY BY HERBERT AND MCCONKEY.

Hoo boy. That is brutal. Somehow, Herbert was able to evade two defenders, slipping past the first before tossing the other to the ground. He located McConkey in the short area, who put a Dolphins’ corner on skates to advance in range for the winning field goal.

It sums up the Chargers’ season: narrowly winning on the excellence of Herbert and his teammates as his offensive line struggles. And it sums up the Miami's D, too: a defensive pressure that struggles to finish and a weak coverage. With the loss, the Dolphins dropped to one win and five losses. Painful late-game failures have become common for Mike McDaniel’s team. With another defeat, he’s running out of time to save his job.

Stat of the Week

Negative 10. That’s the passing yardage the Jets' QB ended with in the Jets’ close defeat to the Denver Broncos in the UK. It’s the lowest in any match since the San Diego Chargers had minus-19 in 1998. Back then, the Chargers started Ryan Leaf making his third game. Fields was in his 49th start.

We know what Fields is now: an elite rusher who struggles to read the {passing game|pass