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Drake Maye Milestone Matches 4 Mvp Quarterbacks In Patriots Week 8 Win

Bonisiwe Shabane
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drake maye milestone matches 4 mvp quarterbacks in patriots week 8 win

Drake Maye notched a feat previously accomplished only by four all-time great quarterbacks when leading the New England Patriots to a 32-13 win over the Cleveland Browns. Despite getting sacked six times, five by Myles Garrett, Maye maintained his momentum in Week 8. The second-year star completed 18 of 24 passes for 282 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a statement home win. Maye posted a 135.8 quarterback rating on Sunday, marking his seventh straight game exceeding a 100 quarterback rating and 200 passing yards. NFL+ noted that Maye is just the fifth quarterback to reach those barometers. The others?

Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Maye snapped a four-game streak when throwing a pick in the second quarter, but he made amends by posting a perfect passer rating in the second half. The former No. 3 pick completed all eight passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns to put Cleveland away. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had another huge performance Sunday, throwing for 282 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over the Browns. Billie Weiss / Getty Images

FOXBORO, Mass. — Drake Maye claimed he didn’t hear the chants. He claimed his teammates were too busy busting his chops in the huddle over an awkward slide. He acted like it was totally normal for most of the fans in the stadium to be proclaiming their appreciation for New England’s second-year quarterback through those three letters. But here’s the thing. Maye is making absurd things commonplace with the Patriots again.

In a stretch of incredible games, his latest performance might’ve been the best yet. That’s because Sunday was when Maye’s hot start was supposed to cool off a bit. The Cleveland Browns had the best defense in the league. Their defensive line is absurd. Some regression would have been natural. Instead, Maye shook off a slow start to put together another MVP-caliber performance in a 32-13 rout of the Browns, completing 18 of 24 passes for 282 yards (while adding another 50 on the...

His play is the biggest reason the Patriots are 6-2, have won five straight (the longest active winning streak in the NFL) and sit atop the AFC East. ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Stefon Diggs was still in his uniform, sitting in a visitor’s locker inside Highmark Stadium. The wide receiver was high on adrenaline following the Patriots 23-20 comeback win over the heavily favored Buffalo Bills, and he couldn’t hold back. “Drake Maye is a gamer,” Diggs yelled out. “Damn, he’s a gamer.”

As Patriots players reveled in their victory, they also celebrated their young quarterback. In front of a packed Highmark Stadium against a Super Bowl-contending division rival, Maye found himself up against Josh Allen, the reigning MVP and the quarterback many compared him to. After heading into halftime with 89 passing yards and too many stalled drives to count, Maye came out in the second half and showed the world why he’s the man many believe will lead... FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The chants from the Foxborough faithful began immediately after Drake Maye ripped off a 28-yard scramble. As those chants echoed throughout Gillette Stadium, the second-year quarterback only gave them further validation.

On the very next play, Maye uncorked a 39-yard touchdown on a beautifully placed deep ball to Kayshon Boutte on the left side of the end zone. That blew the roof off the stadium, blew the game wide open en route to the Patriots' 32-12 victory over the Browns, and continued what is a bona fide MVP bid for the 2024... Want to see a perfectly thrown football?!?!?@DrakeMaye2 | #NEPats📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/irY8QLagy7 "No, I didn't hear it," Maye said of the MVP chants. "The guys were making fun of me about my slide back in the huddle on the long run, so I didn't hear it. But the fans have been awesome all season."

The score not only proved to be Maye's MVP moment of the week, but it capped off an explosive third quarter where the Patriots offense poured on 21 points, all three touchdowns coming from... That second-half surge was much-needed for a New England team that was clinging to a mere 9-7 lead heading into the halftime locker room. Given the team's prior struggles at Gillette Stadium as of late (4-16 since 2023 heading into Week 8), there was a flicker of concern that the lead and the team's winning streak could be... If you couldn't believe the New England Patriots were the “real deal” this NFL season, their dominant Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns should be every indication that the 6-2 franchise means business... They managed to hang 32 points on one of the NFL's best defensive units as quarterback Drake Maye led the way with three touchdowns. Despite a historic day from Browns' DE Myles Garrett, Maye and the Patriots flourished once again behind the leadership of first-year coach Mike Vrabel.

Thanks to the performance, Drake Maye has officially moved himself into the MVP conversation, a bold prediction from earlier in the season finally coming to fruition as the young starter grows before our eyes. Hearing “MVP” chants from the New England crowd at the conclusion of their Week 8 win, Drake Maye could be the favorite to win the award if he can keep this pace for the... Prior to his Week 8 win over the Cleveland Browns, sportsbooks were billing Drake Maye with the fourth-best odds (+850) to win MVP behind names like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield. Following his 282 passing yards, 75% completion percentage, and three touchdowns, Maye moves into third place at +500, trailing only Bills' Josh Allen and Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes. While Mahomes and Allen, both in their prime, will be tough to overcome given their statuses, Drake Maye currently ranks fourth league-wide in passing yards (2,026) and QBR (76.2). We also can't forget that he has the fourth-most rushing yards among quarterbacks (250) and has rushed for two touchdowns this year.

He's accounted for 17 of the Patriots' 22 total touchdowns this season, making him undeniably valuable to his team. We also can't discredit the fact that Drake Maye has his team atop the AFC East division at 6-2, currently leading Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. While we've seen this division flip in Buffalo's favor over the last few years, New England could be returning to their dominant form sooner after the Belichick era that many had anticipated. This must also be credited to the new culture instilled by Mike Vrabel. Midseason awards! Come get your midseason awards!

We are nine weeks through an 18-week NFL season. Let’s hand out my selections for the NFL’s top honors. There’s no shortage of names to consider here. Let's start with most of them, and work our way toward my pick. Past winners like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are both leading some of the league’s best offenses, their teams are both winning games, and their underlying statistics are both strong in the categories that... Mahomes has been dangerous as a scrambler this year as the Chiefs' offense found its footing, and it’s starting to regain its explosiveness as well, with Rashee Rice coming back and players like Tyquan...

It’s perhaps a good thing Matthew Stafford is playing the best ball of his career, leading the Rams (perhaps the NFL’s best team right now) and their supercharged offense. Every throw between Stafford and his top two weapons, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, looks like it has some spice melange flying off of it. Stafford, too, has strong stats that put him in the top 10 of all the underlying metrics I look at (success rate, EPA per dropback, DVOA, net yards per attempt). But again, they're not overwhelming. And like Allen, he’s also paired with a strong run game that helps lift some of the load.

Allen's main counter to that argument is that the Bills' defense was, at one point, giving up record levels of explosive runs. Which is fair! Drake Maye and the New England Patriots are feeling good right now. Heading into Week 8, the team had won four games in a row and was sitting in first place in the AFC East. Much of that success can be attributed to Maye. Fans were hopeful after Maye impressed as a rookie in 2024, but the young quarterback has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations so far.

Now, with his team thriving, Maye is beginning to get some MVP buzz in just his second professional season. On Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, Maye is only strengthening his case. In the third quarter alone against the Browns, Maye threw for three touchdowns. No Patriots passer has thrown for three touchdowns in a quarter since Tom Brady did so in December 2018 against the Miami Dolphins. From ESPN Research: Drake Maye totaled 3 pass passing TDs in the 3rd quarter, as he became the first Patriots QB with 3 passing TDs in a quarter since Tom Brady (Dec. 9, 2018 at Dolphins).

Many quarterbacks struggle to throw three touchdown passes in a full game, much less in one quarter. This is just a testament to how much Maye has improved in such a short amount of time. Maye has been among the most efficient passers in the league in 2025. Phil Perry, Tom Curran and Ted Johnson join Michael Holley to offer instant reaction and analysis following the Patriots’ 25-19 win over the Saints. Drake Maye is the biggest reason the Patriots already have tied their win total from each of the past two seasons. The second-year quarterback led the Patriots to a blowout victory over the Panthers in Week 4, went toe-to-toe and defeated Josh Allen and the Bills in Week 5 and followed it up with a...

New Orleans, while not the same caliber of team as Buffalo, presented a tough challenge and it was Maye who propelled New England to a 25-19 victory on Sunday. It's the first time the Patriots have won three consecutive games since the 2022 campaign. Subscribe to NBC Sports Boston's podcast network to hear our Insiders bring you the latest insights on your favorite teams!

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