Maye did not chat either. He made an average of 9.1 yards on average for the match and completed four passes from 22 to 32 yards, two each in Stefon Diggs and Hunter Henry.
It was undoubtedly Maye’s best match in a year and a half as a professional, given the opponent and the hostile road environment.
“I was so proud of his arrival here and his management of the team,” said Diggs, who finished with 10 caught for 146 yards.
Sunday’s performance highlighted a promising trend for the patriots through five games:
The passenger game is back, especially the downstream pass game.
Patriots of the last two seasons could barely launch the ball. Under Bill O’Brien and Alex Van Pelt, and the Mac Jones quarters, Bailey Zappe, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Milton and Maye, the Patriots ranked 3123 and 2024 for the passes completed with more than 20 yards, and also among the last five in yards by attempt. Unsurprisingly, the patriots scored the second less offensive touchdown during these two seasons with a file of 8-26 and bored their fans to tears.
But under the direction of the new coordinator Josh McDaniels, Maye and the offensive push the ball down of the field as at the time of Tom Brady. After a slow start against raiders and dolphins, Maye has improved considerably in the last three games to the point that:
⋅ Maye is classified n ° 5 in the NFL in yards by attempt (8.24) and n ° 2 in percentage of completion (73.9), a deadly combination. The yards by attempted Maye are up compared to 6.73 last year, which ranked 27th.
⋅ Although he has only succeeded in one route of more than 40 yards, Maye has 16 on more than 20 yards, equal to the sixth row of the NFL. He has had nine in the past two weeks (five against Caroline and four against Buffalo). Maye is about to make 54, against 34 in 2024.
⋅ On the passes of more than 20 yards in the air, Maye has a sheet of 7 out of 9 for 205 yards and a note of 118.8 which classifies it seventh.
⋅ and advanced analyzes love Maye. In the overall statistic of the expected points added (think of War in baseball), Maye ranks n ° 6 for the season on a game by play and n ° 1 for the passes of more than 20 air yards. Maye also ranks 4th for the “percentage of success in relation to expectations”, which means that he succeeds more passes than “should”.
Only eight other times in the history of the Patriots, a quarter started a season better than the 8.24 yards by attempted Maye-Brady five times (2005, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017), Drew Bledsoe twice (1998, 1999) and Steve Grogan (1980).
The Patriots 2021-22 with Mac Jones, McDaniels and Matt Patricia had some success in terms of downwards and were not completely dysfunctional like the Patriots 2023-24. But take into account the 2020 Cam Newton 2020 season and the 2019 Brady’s 2019 season, and it is since the 2016-18 Super Bowl teams that the Patriots were as successful by launching the ball on the field.
Maye does not do that either in a vacuum. Against the Bills, he succeeded in large throws in large places: 22 yards in Hunter Henry in second position and 15 to put the patriots within reach of a basket before half-time; 32 yards in Diggs to establish a touchdown in the third quarter; and 24 yards in Henry and 30 in Diggs in three games to organize another hit.
Against the panthers, Maye struck Diggs out of 22 yards to convert the third and 15. And against the Steelers, Maye converted the third and 10 and 13 and 13 with more than 20 yards to Rhamondre Stevenson and Kayshon Boutte.
The most impressive is that Maye the fact of all kinds of ways: in the pocket, outside the pocket, on the run, against the blitz and against the disguised covers. And Sunday evening in Buffalo, Maye proved that he could do it on the road in a difficult environment against a large team.
“He continues to grow and gain confidence, and shows us, shows everyone, shows his team and himself the ability to operate in the pocket, the ability to operate on time, to move pocket games and then also outside the calendar,” said TRÉBEL. “A really courageous performance of Drake. Just keep enjoying it growing up and directing this football team.”
Ben Volin can be contacted at ben.volin@globe.com.
