The New England Patriots have had quite a hectic start to the 2026 campaign. After an ugly 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, it seemed like the walls were closing in on this team. Two victories later over a pair of top AFC teams (the Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders), and the Pats are once again one of the top teams in the league.
The easiest way to explain New England’s quick turnaround is that quarterback Drake Maye has looked more like himself after a horrific start to the year. What has been the key to getting him back on track, though? If you ask former Patriots Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson, he believes that Maye’s offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, deserves his fair share of credit for helping unlock his quarterback’s potential.
Steven Jackson Praises Josh McDaniels’ Work With Drake Maye
Maye announced himself to the NFL last season with an MVP-caliber campaign that saw him complete a league-leading 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns. Through the first three games of the season this year, though, Maye was a shell of himself (51/80, 585 YDS, 1 TD, 6 INT), and nobody could figure out what was wrong with him.
Over the past two games, Maye has flipped a switch, looking every bit like the player he was last year (48/71, 643 YDS, 7 TD, 1 INT). When considering how banged up the offense is in the injury department, you can make an argument that his performance against the Raiders in Week 5 was the best of his young career.
So what gives? How has Maye suddenly become the best version of himself, even as his options in the passing game dwindle? Jackson believes that McDaniels deserves his due praise, saying that he has managed to dial back things on offense for Maye, with the expectation being he will get a bit more creative once guys like A.J. Brown and Mack Hollins get back on the field.
“I know Josh McDaniels well. He deserves a lot of credit, too,” Jackson said in an interview with Betway. “He’s gone back to the basics. He probably held some things back and went back to the things that Drake does really well. Then he’ll eventually spoon-feed in some other things that maybe they’re not ready for right now. I think you’ll see him open the playbook up a little more for Maye again when A. J. Brown is back.”
Patriots Appear to Have Gotten Drake Maye Back on Track
It’s important to remember that Maye is only 24 years old, so for as impressive as he looked last season, there are still going to be some growing pains for him. After appearing to have his confidence shot earlier in the year, though, Maye delivered some of the prettiest passes of his career in big games against the Bills and Raiders.
Heading into Week 6, Maye and the Pats will be going up against a New York Jets team that has proven to be a tougher opponent than many folks were expecting them to be entering the season. Maye has been great as of late, but he and the rest of the offense can’t afford to take New York lightly, or else the progress he has recently made could quickly vanish into thin air.
Former Patriots Pro Bowler Assigns Credit for Drake Maye’s Sudden Turnaround