Sunday’s matchup between the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears was not a great sport. It was a lovely successor to the morning’s Giants-Panthers showdown, each bodily and spiritually. It was a showcase of poorly coached groups executing flawed plans at a few 60 p.c success charge.
Finally, the Patriots got here away with a 19-3 win as a lot as a treatise on the hopelessness of Bears soccer because it was about something New England did. Maye, within the midst of this chaos, wasn’t unimaginable. He threw for under 184 yards. He had as many touchdowns (one) as interceptions and the interception he threw was (sucks air over tooth, grimacing):
i’m much less enthusiastic about Drake Maye pic.twitter.com/afuu72u049
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 10, 2024
However one drive showcased why Maye has a greater likelihood to be Tom Brady’s eventual successor than Mac Jones did in New England. All of it got here down to 3 performs in a 54-yard discipline purpose drive that staked the Patriots a 3-0 lead they wouldn’t surrender.
First, a superbly positioned deep strike by a good window to tight finish Austin Hooper for 28 yards:
Drake Maye into the tight window after play motion for 28 yards. this child will get it pic.twitter.com/4D7KFJAhOV
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 10, 2024
Together with his pocket shrinking, Maye didn’t panic. With restricted room to run, he trusted in his arm as an alternative. He stood tall, set his ft and delivered an ideal deep strike by tight protection for an enormous acquire. Eight performs later, after Rhamondre Stevenson picked up fourth-and-short, Maye finds himself in bother once more. He escapes strain solely to wind up in additional bother. Tremaine Edmunds has him wrapped up for a sack besides, nope!
Drake Maye escapes strain, realizes he is accomplished for, then ditches the ball together with his left hand to save lots of 4 yards pic.twitter.com/mZ1Z31bSqQ
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 10, 2024
Maye, outdoors the sort out field, flipped a left-handed cross out of bounds. It’s an incompletion however a internet acquire of 4 yards by avoiding the sort out.
Two performs later, he virtually created a third-and-six landing out of skinny air. What appears to be like like one other throw away as an alternative acquired to Okay.J. Osborn with inches to spare ultimately zone:
it did not depend resulting from unlawful touching, however by way of rule of cool this was a Drake Maye landing pulled out of the ether pic.twitter.com/6GKTXp5mBJ
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 10, 2024
Osborn stepped out of bounds earlier than hauling within the catch, making it unlawful touching and lowering Maye’s effort right into a easy “incompletion.” However this drive showcased all of the inherent qualities for which the Patriots are wanting in a quarterback. He’s able to ending performs by contact. He can escape strain and take the fitting dangers downfield. He understands when to scuttle a play and maximize yardage behind a difficult offensive line.
None of this manifested into a formidable stat line. Maye’s solely deep completion was the one above to Hooper. He recorded a detrimental anticipated factors added (EPA) for the fourth time in six NFL video games so far.
Even so, it resulted in a win and a few well-earned confidence from Patriots followers subjected to Sunday’s horrible sport. New England doesn’t have a lot to cheer for this season. The very best it may well hope for are silver linings in a gray cloud.
However Maye is shiny as hell in the intervening time. He’s able to find his spots even with horrible blocking and a cache of receivers who prime out at “common.” There are going to be loads of dangerous moments just like the interception above ready to ambush the rookie quarterback this winter. So long as he cantilevers these with low-key moments of brilliance he’ll be high quality — even when they don’t present up on the field rating.
