Start faster. Hit open receivers. Execute better in the red zone.
Those were the three areas of focus for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye entering Week 2 after a season opening defeat. And as Maye left Miami Sunday, he left with not only a win but each of his goals checked off in what was the quarterback’s best start of his young career.
In total, Maye completed 19-of-23 passes for 230 yards and three total touchdowns. The second-year pro tallied single-game highs in total QBR (77.6), completion
percentage over expected (+13.5%), and total expected points added (+16.3) while not recording a single turnover worthy play throughout the contest.
“It was hugely efficient,” head coach Mike Vrabel said of his performance. “The ball went where it was supposed to go. He was decisive. I thought he did a great job of transferring up into the pocket, setting his depth, and then transferring up, being really good with the football, being able to pull through with two hands in the pocket when they have edge rushers and we’re on the road.
“When you don’t do that, those turn into sacks, hurries, throwaways, strip sacks, and when you can climb the pocket, remain a thrower and keep your eyes downfield, that’s when you can hit some plays.”
Fast start
After an opening three-and-out in the season opener which included an overthrow on third-down, settling down and moving the football out of the gate would be key for Maye down in Miami. With New England opening with the football, that’s exactly what he did as he led a 10-play, 68-yard touchdown drive in which he completed his final four passes.
While big play-action gains were the highlights, perhaps the key play on the drive came on fourth-and-three. Maye, who seemed poised and confident from the jump, patiently waits for Austin Hooper to clear out the middle of the field defender before finding Stefon Diggs, who has proved to be a valuable veteran chain mover early in his Patriot tenure, over the ball to pick up a fresh set of downs.
Then offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who had an outstanding game script with more motion and run actions compared to the opener, gets Maye on the move with several altered launch points in which the athletic QB is very comfortable operating.
The first comes on “Leak” (:08) where New England fakes a run play to the left before bootlegging Maye to the right and leaking Hooper out of the formation. With speedster Kyle Williams occupying the cover three corner, Hooper is left wide open and makes a strong catch on one of Maye’s lone high passes of the day.
Two plays later (:01), a bootleg concept then gets Maye working to his right again where a simple read results in an easy touchdown to Mack Hollins.
“We were preaching all week start fast. We did that, and we knew they could respond, and they responded well,” Maye said post game. “Got to keep the drives going in the first half, get a first down, and once we do that, we’re pretty tough to stop. That’s our mindset.”
Hitting open receivers
As seen by the early fourth-down conversion, Maye was more in-rhythm against Miami after he admitted he felt rushed on some throws against Las Vegas the week prior. In total, Maye completed 12-of-14 passes working between 0-to-9 yards after hitting on just 8-of-13 attempts last week.
Maye’s ability to operate the quick game or cleanly find his check down was on display throughout the game and often helped New England overcome penalties and get back on track.
On the Patriots second scoring drive, a false start on Will Campbell led to New England facing a second-and-12. Maye does well to quickly find Diggs (1Q, 7:07) on a juke over the middle which creates a manageable third-and-four situation — where the QB then hits TreVeyon Henderson downfield on a well executed pick-wheel with Hunter Henry for a 15-yard gain.
Eight plays later, Maye beat Miami on one of their rare man coverage reps of the day to find Kayshon Boutte in the end zone to extend New England’s early lead to 12-0.
Maye had plenty of other strong moments in the quick game — such as a second quarter sequence where two straight completions to Hooper combined for 16 yards to help set up a field goal — but his best play of the game came when New England needed it most in the third quarter.
Following a quick three-and-out and with Miami in the midst of a 13-0 run on the scoreboard, New England faced a third-and-three back at their own 24-yard line. Seeing man coverage due to a pre-snap motion, Maye alerts the play and knows he’ll have Rhamondre Stevenson one-on-one on a linebacker.
It was a play New England hit in practice this week with rookie TreVeyon Henderson in the backfield, but Stevenson wins on his route as Maye steps up the avoid pressure — ripping the ball through to protect it in the process — and delivers a dart downfield to the back.
The play in totality was perhaps the best quarterbacking of Maye’s career and one an elite player makes when his team needed it the most.
Red zone
Two plays after Stevenson’s long catch-and-run, Maye took a snap instead the 10-yard line and quickly had an unblocked Matthew Judon barreling down on him. But, the dual threat quarterback took off to his right and outran the pass rusher to find the end zone for a touchdown.
It was New England’s third successful trip in the red zone against Miami. While it was not a perfect showing in side the 20s as a drive stalled before the half with Maye’s third-down pass to Hunter Henry getting tipped at the line of scrimmage, the 3-of-4 performance was an improvement from the 1-of-3 showing in the season opener.
“You usually get what you emphasize, and these guys really held true to that,” Maye said. “We want to score touchdowns in the red zone. I think we came up short one time, but other than that, we thought we did good down there. Kept doing positive plays, and we think we can do better. Just got enough positive plays and keep stacking those, and good things will happen.”
