Drake Maye had a lot of reasons to admire his own work Sunday.
Four touchdown passes.
Another score with his legs.
A performance that left the New England Patriots looking super comfortable with their quarterback at the controls.
Yet, when Maye spoke afterward, his enthusiasm stretched past his stat line.
“It was beautiful to be a part of today,” he said during his postgame press conference.
Maye completed 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, per his official Patriots game log. He also contributed a rushing touchdown.
The afternoon was a convincing follow-up to the win in Buffalo.
Maye’s appreciation for the people around him explained why this particular outing felt so satisfying, with protection making room for him to operate, Josh McDaniels hitting on the calls, and his targets taking advantage of what comes their way.
Maye’s Career First a Reason for Optimism
The numbers reflected how thoroughly Maye took command.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss, citing ESPN Insights, noted that Maye threw at least three touchdown passes in consecutive games for the first time in his career. He followed three scoring throws against the Buffalo Bills with four against Las Vegas.
New England has now seen its quarterback deliver against two different defenses, with Sunday’s showing bringing both explosive gains and careful decisions.
There were even a couple of milestones within reach.
The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed noted that Maye finished 7.4 points shy of a perfect passer rating and six passing yards short of his career high. His rating was 150.9.
For all the attention those figures deserve, Maye directed praise toward the blocking in front of him.
A comfortable pocket affords an offense more possibilities. Routes have time to develop, so deeper targets become available, and the quarterback can work through his options without searching for an escape.
Maye made use of that breathing room.
Maye Praises McDaniels as Douglas Breaks Through
Maye also credited McDaniels’ play-calling, describing the offense as “clicking on all cylinders” in his remarks after the victory.
DeMario Douglas provided a particularly rewarding example. The receiver caught two touchdown passes, while Hunter Henry and Kyle Williams each added a scoring reception, per Reuters’ game recap.
Discussing Douglas’ breakout, Maye explained that one of his favorite parts of playing quarterback is being able to “spread the wealth” among teammates who work hard and “do all the right things.”
Maye sees the preparation that precedes those chances. Getting the ball to someone who has earned it has its own satisfaction.
The distribution also gives McDaniels something useful to work off of. When several targets contribute, the offense has more avenues to pursue than repeatedly asking one receiver to hit the decisive play.
Sunday brought those pieces together.
And even though the quarterback enjoyed the production, sharing it made the experience sweeter.
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