University of Kwazulu-Natal

Patriots Qb Drake Maye Takes Subtle Shot At Bills After Win

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
patriots qb drake maye takes subtle shot at bills after win

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. 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. Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert has changed his tune on Drake Maye following the New England Patriots' improbable road win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 5.

Maye put together arguably the best performance of his NFL career, which included a game-winning drive that setup a 52-yard field goal by rookie kicker Andy Borregales. All told, the quarterback went 22-of-30 on the evening, throwing for 273 yards. He made multiple clutch throws in the game. One completion in particular came on the Patriots' final drive when he was being pulled to the ground by a defender. He still found the strength to throw a completion to his No. 1 wide receiver, Stefon Diggs.

The quarterback play was eye-opening to many NFL fans, including Benkert, who fully admitted that he was wrong about the quarterback from previous evaluations. Benkert felt strongly about Maye coming out of college. He felt that the former North Carolina standout had a lot of upside, but he had a long way to go to reach it. October 6, 2025 / 1:24 AM EDT / CBS Boston The New England Patriots sent a message to the NFL on national television Sunday night. A few messages, actually.

In upsetting the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium, defeating the last undefeated team in the league, the Patriots put the rest of the NFL on notice. Drake Maye had his breakout game for the Sunday Night Football crowd, showing the world that he has indeed arrived. Stefon Diggs showed everyone he still has what it takes to be a No. 1 receiver in the league. Mike Vrabel's defense showed it's going to continue to make plays in key moments, and New England's special teams showed it will keep making an impact as well. The New England Patriots are now 3-2 after becoming the first team to beat the Bills, 23-20, this season.

It wasn't perfect, as the Bills came back and made Maye and company make plays in the final minutes of the contest. But the Patriots made the plays they had to in those key and clutch moments. They did so on the road, against last year's reigning MVP and a team with a Super Bowl run on its mind. Sunday night is the biggest win for the Patriots since the days of Tom Brady. 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. Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. "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."

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...

People Also Search

The New England Patriots Went Into Highmark Stadium And Upset

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 half...

He Finished With 273 Yards Passing And Another 12 On

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

The phrase became a rallying cry for Bills fans and has stuck ever since. 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 ...

The Former First-round Pick Was Hitting All The Layups Within

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 (...

That's Not Unusual For Maye, Per Se, But OC Josh

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 miraculou...