New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye answered any lingering questions from an uneven Week 1 performance with his most impressive game as a pro, dive-bombing a beleaguered Miami defense in a 33-27 victory.
Maye went 19-of-23 passing for 230 yards and two touchdowns for a 137.3 passer rating, and added another 31 rushing yards and a rushing score. Maye set or tied career highs in completion percentage (82.6), passing yards per attempt (10.0), passer rating and total TDs. Sunday marked Maye's first passer rating above 110.
After the game, teammates glowed about Maye's play.
"You've got a guy, and he's looking and calling the plays. You're looking at him in his eyes and he's speaking with confidence and enthusiasm," Morgan Moses said, via Mass Live. "You know plays are going to work. That's who he is. He's a leader. He's our quarterback, man. He played a hell of a game."
While Maye took three sacks, his deft pocket movement created several big plays and his ability to escape kept drives alive.
"Oh man, Drake's a hell of a player. A dog. I love playing for him," Christian Barmore said. "He puts fire into us. Especially how he makes big plays, how he runs, excitement. ... I love playing for a guy like that."
As the Patriots' defense got burned by the Dolphins, giving up an early 12-0 lead, Maye showed an ability to answer the call, generating first downs and putting points on the board late to stretch the lead and force Miami into desperation.
Veteran receiver Stefon Diggs remarked even in two games, he can see Maye's ability to correct his mistakes on the fly.
"Growing up. It's early. Game 2," Diggs said. "Obviously, we try to go 1-0 each and every week. I feel like he made a jump from last week, just settling in. It's hard being a young quarterback, but I feel like he's doing the best job he can. Four incompletions -- you ask him if he's happy about it."
Maye's best pass came on a jaw-dropping 55-yard bomb to running back Rhamondre Stevenson late in the third quarter. Maye stepped through trash in the pocket and unleashed a pinpoint accurate ball that hit the RB in stride. Two plays later, Maye ran in for a 6-yard touchdown.
"It was sick. Oh my gosh -- some of those throws down the sideline," center Garrett Bradbury said. "We've got a pretty good viewpoint where we're just sitting there, and all of a sudden we see the ball and we're like, 'That was a perfect throw.' To Rhamondre down the sideline. I think that was a third-and-long. It's awesome. You love playing with guys at that position that can dice it up. It was a great day for him."
Coach Mike Vrabel, who earned his first win in New England, pumped the brakes a bit on the Maye praise, noting that there are still things to be ironed out and curtailing the compliments for the QB.
"I think there's a lot of good things and a lot of things we'll have to fix," Vrabel said. "The command and the operation, and when he feels that lull, that's when we've got to tighten the screws on these guys and get them set faster and get them out of the huddle faster and really push them. He's a jockey, and he's got to know what the flow of the team looks like offensively."
Maye is the first Patriots QB with multiple passing TDs and one-plus rushing TD in the same game since Tom Brady in Week 2, 2019 -- the Patriots' last road win in Miami before Sunday.
