Ahead of joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles this week, Drake Maye turned on the film from two years ago.
During Maye’s rookie season, the Eagles came to Foxboro for joint practices. With an Eagles team that went on to win the Super Bowl matching up against the Patriots team that fired their coach and won four games, the results were exactly what you expected.
“I was watching some of those plays earlier in the week. I was just laughing,” Maye recalled. “I motioned somebody who was coming forward
and snapped it, and then there was a penalty, and little things like that, that we were laughing about — just how far we have come.”
Now as reigning AFC Champions, the Patriots held their ground with a competitive two days of practices. That included Drake Maye completing his first 13 passes in a row on Wednesday as his connection with A.J. Brown continues to grow.
On Thursday in the red zone, it was tougher sledder for Maye and the Patriots. The quarterback still found touchdowns to Mack Hollins, Brown, and Romeo Doubs, but clearly had a handful of plays he’d like back.
“I think we had a lot of great work,” Maye said after practice. “I think the biggest thing is that is a good football team over there, and I think just not riding the rollercoaster. I feel like we had some good periods that we were attacking them and had some good plays. Then we had some periods where we got to continue the competitive stamina, and that is the thing about this game. It can’t just be one play here, one play there. You got to string some plays together in a row, and I felt like we did that more yesterday than we did today.
“I know it’s tough down there in the red zone, a lot of bodies in a short amount of space, but I feel like we could have done more in the red zone, and I think that is something for us to learn. It’s one of our focuses this year to be better in the red zone, so we got some work to do.”
While work remains to be done, the difference from what took place this year compared to 2024 was stark. Much of that has to do with Maye’s ascension and the Patriots’ improvement in the trenches — as the Eagles had free lanes to Maye throughout those practices two years ago.
This time around, Maye felt the Patriots’ front was able to stand up to a talented Eagles defensive line, highlighting the improvement the quarterback wants the Patriots to continue building on as they prepare for the regular season.
“You can see that [the Eagles] have a great football team, a lot of the same players over there,” Maye said. “So, we got to continue to show our identity. I think we definitely improved in regards to 2024, that’s for sure. So, we have some ways to go, but I’m proud of the guys’ effort.”
