When he returned as offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots last offseason, Josh McDaniels knew his top priority was the development of potential franchise quarterback Drake Maye, so he told his young signal-caller to be more like seven-time NFL champion Tom Brady, but a funny thing happened along the way to the 2025 Pats reaching Super Bowl LX: Maye actually surpassed Brady in one key area, an area that’s allowed McDaniels to redefine his offense.
McDaniels revealed how Maye has advanced simply beyond trying to replicate Brady. So much so, the second-year QB is now better than arguably the greatest player in franchise history in one facet of the game.
That facet helped the Patriots book their ticket to the Super Bowl by beating the Denver Broncos 10-7 in the AFC Championship Game. Maye ran the ball 10 times for 65 yards and a touchdown at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, January 25, and the significance of that rushing threat isn’t lost on McDaniels.
The OC who’s in his third stint with the Patriots, “told me what Drake Maye could learn from Tom Brady from an operational standpoint. But McD said Maye made this offense HIS. Designed QB runs, option, etc…,” according to Henry McKenna of Fox Sports.
McKenna quoted McDaniels admitting, “We never did that with Tom. Why? Because Drake can do it. Drake’s version of this is completely his own.”
Designed QB runs, option, etc…
“We never did that with Tom. Why? Because Drake can do it. Drake’s version of this is completely his own.”
Maye’s ownership of the offense, and by extension this team, was summed up by how he ad-libbed the critical play in Denver.
Drake Maye Called His Shot to Outdo Tom Brady
Brady and McDaniels established a strong rapport when the latter’s play-calling helped TB12 win three of the six Lombardi Trophies he lifted in a Patriots uniform. McDaniels had a high level of trust in Brady, but a similar confidence in Maye is growing, not just from his coordinator, but also from a veteran skill-player who has defined the instant turnaround under head coach Mike Vrabel.
Faith in Maye was rewarded when No. 10 called his own shot to ice the game against the Broncos. It happened with under two minutes on the clock, when Maye was supposed to “hand the ball off right to Rhamondre Stevenson, who would then run behind his fullback, Jack Westover. Meanwhile, the offensive line would move in unison at the line of scrimmage as it moved Denver’s defense laterally, letting Stevenson pick his running lane of choice to convert this third-and-5 near midfield,” according to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.
Only Maye went off-script once he took the snap. The third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft “turned right into the backfield but never took his hands off the ball. As Stevenson opened his arms, Maye peeled the other way and broke from the play design.”
This impromptu scramble for seven yards had center Garrett Bradbury dazed and confused. As he put it, “I hit my block, and all the defenders started running the other way. I’m like, ‘What? Oh my God.'”
Bradbury’s shock was genuine because “After the game, Drake’s like, ‘I debated telling you guys if I was gonna (keep) it or not. But I just decided not to,'” per Callahan.
That Maye would chance deviating from the tried and tested McDaniels-Brady formula in such a key moment of the biggest game for the Patriots in years, is proof he’s something special. So is Maye achieving something Brady never managed in Denver during the playoffs.
He’s writing his own post-Brady history for the Patriots, but Maye can still learn a thing or two from the legend. Especially since McDaniels is still using many of the same methods in pursuit of yet another championship.
Josh McDaniels Relying on Familiar Patriots Formula
Not much has changed since McDaniels helped Brady direct the 2018 Pats to a Super Bowl victory that brought the curtain down on a dynasty. There’s no Brady nor Bill Belichick around, but NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks thinks “It’s amazing the Patriots are still running their base offensive and defensive plays from the 2000s. Mike Vrabel is the head coach, but they’re utilizing a lot of Bill Belichick’s old playbook and game plans.”
Designed runs for Maye, along with the freedom to ad-lib a rushing attempt when he senses an opportunity, are new to the playbook, but McDaniels still has some old favorites. They show up in both phases of the offense, but creativity in the ground game was more important when heavy snow fell against the Broncos.
Then it became time to overload the line of scrimmage with a sixth offensive lineman and lean on power-based running. McDaniels “used jumbo personnel (6+ OL) on a season-high 33.3% of their offensive plays against the Broncos, doing so on 42.1% of second-half plays (as the weather worsened). The Patriots controlled the ball for 21:06 of the second half,” per Next Gen Stats.
Six O-linemen formations were common during McDaniels’ previous two stints as OC. He defaulted to the run-heavy sets whenever the Patriots needed to go into wear-down mode on the road, notably when Jonas Gray rushed for over 200 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in 2014, and when the Pats ran the ball 46 times to beat the Buffalo Bills amid inclement weather in 2021.
What’s old is becoming new again for the Patriots, who once dominated the league behind a star quarterback. Maye gets his chance in two weeks to start his own stretch of dominance to rival Brady.
Patriots OC Reveals How Drake Maye Has Surpassed Tom Brady