The New England Patriots walked out of Gillette Stadium with their first victory of the season over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
However, former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason still saw a Drake Maye problem that the 20-3 score couldn’t cover.
“Well, I would say he has regressed; there’s no question about it,” Esiason said during a Sept. 21 appearance on WEEI.
The former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback connected Maye’s latest mistake to the final interception of his three-pick outing against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1.
“The interceptions are killers, and yesterday’s interception reminded me of the last interception he threw against Seattle — kind of off the back foot, lays it out there,” Esiason said. “You can’t play quarterback in the NFL like that. You have to be more decisive, gotta be more consistent.”
New England’s defense kept the mistake from changing Sunday’s outcome. The larger concern is that the same faulty habit returned after a season opener in which turnovers decided the game.
Esiason Turns Attention to Patriots Coaching
Esiason did not leave all the responsibility with Maye. He placed the next step on the staff charged with correcting the quarterback.
“It comes back to coaching,” Esiason said. “You’ve got to coach the kid out of this.”
That sends some of the heat toward offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, whose return to New England paired him with Maye and produced an MVP runner-up campaign and a trip to Super Bowl LX last season. Maye completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2025, earning second-team All-Pro honors.
The baseline makes this two-game stretch jarring. Maye already has half as many regular-season interceptions as he threw throughout 2025.
McDaniels acknowledged before the Steelers game that defenses were adjusting to Maye by leaning on two-high safety looks and taking away vertical shots. He emphasized discipline as the answer, per Pats Pulpit.
The Steelers presented another zone-heavy test, and Maye again tried to manufacture a deep completion without setting his feet.
Maye’s Turnover Problem Follows Him Into Win
The interception came early in the third quarter with New England leading 10-3.
One snap after Maye escaped the pocket and found Romeo Doubs for 29 yards, he drifted backward and floated an underthrown pass toward Hunter Henry. Linebacker Patrick Queen collected it at the Pittsburgh 10-yard line.
The play had the details Esiason flagged — Maye’s base disappeared, the decision came late and the ball stayed in the air long enough for Queen to slide underneath it. Pittsburgh failed to turn the takeaway into points, allowing the quarterback an escape that Seattle never provided.
Maye finished 14 of 22 for 208 yards with no touchdowns and the interception. The game was ultimately decided by New England’s 136 rushing yards and a defense that held Pittsburgh to 235 total yards. TreVeyon Henderson scored on a 39-yard run, while the defense supplied the clinching touchdown.
There were still reminders of Maye’s ability. His 63-yard strike to Romeo Doubs set up a third-quarter field goal, and he averaged 9.5 yards per attempt despite losing right guard Mike Onwenu to an ankle injury.
Esiason’s verdict centers on what happens when the clean opportunities disappear.
And the win over the Steelers did little to settle the decision-making issue ahead of Maye’s Week 3 visit against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Former MVP QB on Patriots’ ‘Regressed’ Maye: ‘Can’t Play Quarterback in NFL Like That’