Maye has six interceptions and one touchdown through three games, and the New England Patriots sit 1-2 after a 35-6 blowout in Jacksonville.
Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills and the unbeaten Las Vegas Raiders come next, leaving the quarterback who led New England to the Super Bowl with an open question. Which version shows up?
The Patriots have a “serious Drake Maye problem,” according to Sports Illustrated columnist Andy Nesbitt. He cites a Week 1 loss at Seattle, a Week 2 win over Pittsburgh without a touchdown pass and Sunday’s 35-6 collapse, when Maye threw two interceptions, fumbled twice and watched Tommy DeVito take the fourth-quarter snaps.
“This league will humble you quick,” Maye said after the Jacksonville loss, as quoted by Nesbitt. “What we’re doing out there offensively is unacceptable.”
“Sometimes you can want it too badly,” coach Mike Vrabel said, per Nesbitt. The coach framed the turnovers as the product of a quarterback pressing.
Patriots’ Drake Maye Slump Compared to 2025 Start
The 2025 Patriots also opened 1-2, and the passer looked different. Maye completed 77 of 106 passes for 785 yards, with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
This year he is 51 of 80 for 585 yards, a 63.8 percent completion rate, with nine sacks and a 58.6 passer rating. Last season he threw eight interceptions in all of 2025 while posting 31 touchdowns and a 113.5 rating, according to Patriots.com.
Tom Brady opened 2014 at 2-1 with CBS Boston writer Michael Hurley documenting the damage — 67 of 114 for 632 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and seven sacks. Brady then threw 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions over the next 13 games and won Super Bowl XLIX.
His worst single game as a Patriot came in the 2003 opener, when he threw four interceptions in a 31-0 loss at Buffalo, according to Complex writer Chris Gaine’s ranking. New England finished 14-2 and won the title.
Patriots’ Drake Maye Slump and Super Bowl Precedent
Vrabel and Maye have already climbed out of this hole once. The 2025 Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers sandwiched around a win at Miami, then finished 14-3 and reached Super Bowl LX.
The 2001 Patriots stood 1-2 after Week 3 and 1-3 after Week 4, then went 10-2 the rest of the regular season and beat the Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Only four teams have reached the Super Bowl after 0-2, according to CBS Sports. The 1993 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 Patriots and 2007 New York Giants won it. The 1996 Patriots lost to Green Bay.
Second-year regression has precedent, too. Dak Prescott’s interceptions rose from four to 13 in 2017, and Baker Mayfield threw 21 in 2019. C.J. Stroud’s yards per attempt fell sharply in 2024.
Maye’s 2026 numbers sit closer to that group than to Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson, whose big Year 2 jumps followed limited rookie seasons.
Nesbitt concluded that New England’s season could be all but over before Halloween — unless Maye gets better, fast.
Do Patriots Have a ‘Serious Drake Maye Problem’ or Is His Regression Normal?