University of Kwazulu-Natal

Patriots Drake Maye On Success Vs Bills They Can T Stop Us

Bonisiwe Shabane
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patriots drake maye on success vs bills they can t stop us

Drake Maye couldn't contain his joy as he was flanked by Stefon Diggs and Rhamondre Stevenson during the postgame interview after they upset the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday. The Patriots escaped with the win, 23-20, after Maye led a gallant drive in the fourth quarter to set up Andy Borregales' 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left. The 23-year-old Maye went 22-of-30 for 273 yards. He was sacked four times but remained composed and found his targets when they mattered the most. They improved to 3-2 and dealt the Bills their first defeat. When asked what went right for them, the second-year quarterback was direct with his response, firing a dig at Buffalo.

“They can't stop us. I'm trying to get these guys the football and just trying to make positive plays,” said Maye. “But like I said, the defense also played great. What a night.” To those who saw Sunday night's signature win for the Patriots over the Bills in Buffalo as a breakout performance for second-year QB Drake Maye, welcome to the party. Last week, we wrote that Maye was making the year-two leap right before our eyes following a rout of the Panthers, where the second-year quarterback posted a 93.3 QBR (out of 100).

During his rookie season, there were flashes of Maye's franchise quarterback potential. However, the offense wasn't ready to support his talents, and the then first-year passer was going through the typical rookie growing pains of staying aggressive while keeping the ball out of harm's way. This season, Maye has been rapidly improving in all areas, heading into Week 5 as the third-best passer in the league in total expected points added (EPA, +33.9). The former first-round pick was hitting all the layups within the offense's structure, playmaking on the move and inside the pocket and the turnover-worthy plays were beginning to settle down. After five weeks, he is now sixth in expected points added per drop-back (+0.29), and following another turnover-free performance, Maye is now ninth-best in turnover-worthy play rate among 33 qualified QBs (2.0%). Although all the signs were there before Sunday night's win, Maye's primetime performance had a few newer developments.

The most obvious is that the Pats QB recorded his first game-winning drive of his young career against a playoff-caliber opponent. From this perspective, there were even more "put the team on his back" moments compared to Maye's first four games this season. By my count, Maye had 11 'plus' plays, including seven in the final two quarters. That's not unusual for Maye, per se, but OC Josh McDaniels was cooking things up scheme-wise over the last few weeks. In the first four weeks of the season, Maye had a high rate of "open window" throws thanks to McDaniels scheming open receivers. On Sunday night, Maye was elevating the scheme, with multiple off-script dimes and a career-high four big-time throws.

For example, Maye made a miraculous throw while being dragged down to hit WR Stefon Diggs in the flat (12 yards) and hit the cover-two hole shot to Kayshon Boutte (19 yards) to get... Maye had to beat Buffalo with traditional drop-back passing, and he passed the litmus test against the undefeated Bills with flying colors. Drake Maye’s ridiculousness, the defense’s energy, Andy Borregales’ clutch gene, and more from Sunday’s 23-20 win. The New England Patriots celebrated a massive victory against one of the best teams in the league on Sunday night in Buffalo, beating the Bills 23-20. The team of head coach Mike Vrabel made a statement that they can play with anyone as long as they have Drake Maye and are able to keep mistakes at a minimum. And with that said, let’s get into our lessons learned on Sunday night.

Drake Maye has been playing extremely well to start his second NFL season, but he hadn’t really exploded onto the scene until Sunday night. However, against the Bills the nation got to see him duel it out against Josh Allen and he made some absolutely silly plays. The 32-yard throw to Stefon Diggs down the sideline is one of the best plays you’ll ever see, both from the QB and receiver. The first play on the final drive was ridiculous as well, with him fighting off a defensive lineman long enough to get the ball out to Diggs, who broke a tackle and picked up... Then, the hole shot to Kayshon Boutte on the final drive put the icing on the cake; Maye stood in the pocket, took a hit, and made a perfect pass to Boutte for 19... Phil Perry, Tom E.

Curran and Ted Johnson share instant reaction to the Patriots’ gutsy 23-20 win over the Bills In his 17th career start, ironically the exact mark of a full season, the Patriots quarterback earned his first signature win. Maye's five career wins prior to the 23-20 victory against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday night pale in comparison to his first primetime start. "I would say it's an even bigger moment for Drake Maye," Patriots insider Phil Perry said on Patriots Postgame Live following the Week 5 verdict. "You get the ball with two minutes left. It's a tie game against a team that everybody thinks is going to the Super Bowl and you make two special throws, in my opinion."

Subscribe to NBC Sports Boston's podcast network to hear our Insiders bring you the latest insights on your favorite teams! Maye and the offense took the field with 2:12 remaining in a tie game and proceeded to lead a crunch-time scoring drive, as the Patriots gained 37 yards on seven plays before rookie Andy... The New England Patriots went into Highmark Stadium and upset the Buffalo Bills in what could be the final Sunday Night Football game at the venue. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye led a game-winning drive that ended in a field goal to give New England a 23-20 win. The first half was sluggish offensively for both teams. Turnovers and penalties killed drives as the Patriots took a 6-3 lead into halftime.

In the second half, things picked up. For New England, Maye made play after play and looked like the best player on the field. He finished with 273 yards passing and another 12 on the ground. After the game, Maye used interesting wording in his post-game comments. “Where else would you rather be?” Maye said. “That was fun.”

While the comment might seem innocuous, his choice of words was likely intentional. In 1986, former Bills head coach Marv Levy said the words to his team before a game. The phrase became a rallying cry for Bills fans and has stuck ever since.

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