Two games into the 2026 season, Drake Maye has not looked like himself.
So far, the New England Patriots quarterback has thrown four interceptions to just one touchdown. Maye committed three of those turnovers in the fourth quarter alone against the Seattle Seahawks, effectively losing New England the season opener.
While the 2025 MVP runner-up’s third season hasn’t been catastrophic by any means and doesn’t warrant long-term concern, he consistently appears to be flustered in the pocket and not confident
in what he’s seeing past his offensive line.
And considering the Patriots soon match up against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears before star wide receiver A.J. Brown can return, timely adjustments need to be made.
Although we can’t know exactly how Maye is processing the field, we have the resources to make estimates about why the signal-caller has struggled and how he can respond.
Embracing the short game
It’s important to note that NFL defenses are always adjusting. Therefore, Maye will have to adapt while also reestablishing the traits that made him an MVP candidate just one season ago.
Across the Patriots’ first two contests, the Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers defenses lined up with two-high safeties just over 50% of the time when facing Maye. Oftentimes, their play designs call for split-safety coverage, with their defense playing in cover two, four, or the dreaded cover six.
Progressing past the chains by taking the routine underneath plays forces those safeties to eventually adapt and play closer to the line of scrimmage. Excelling in the short passing game involves remaining “disciplined,” a word offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels used last week to describe how New England can adjust to how opposing teams will approach defending Maye.
The 24-year-old was efficient in that approach against Seattle, leading the reigning Super Bowl champions 7-0 at halftime, until he “lost patience.”
McDaniels added that there’s a “fine line” between taking care of the ball and taking what the defense allows while staying aggressive and making downfield plays. He called that attribute one of Maye’s greatest.
Reestablishing his poise in the pocket
Maye’s presence in the pocket is an area where the third-year quarterback has struggled to start the season, lacking the poise and composure that allowed him to methodically maneuver around pressure and throw with strong velocity and accuracy while staying in the pocket.
Yet this season, Maye often bails from the pocket when he doesn’t need to. He appears to be playing too quickly, second-guessing himself and making abrupt decisions, potentially indicating that opposing defenses are speeding him up mentally as he diagnoses what’s happening in front of him.
Pro Football Focus assigned Maye a 26.8 passing grade under pressure. A potential reason why he looks stiff in the pocket may be an effort to prevent fumbles, which he struggled with in the 2025 postseason, losing possession four times.
Still, as McDaniels alluded to, there’s a middle ground.
Recapturing those attributes begins with Maye playing more decisively without letting defenses accelerate his mental processing. That means operating the short passing game quickly and with confidence in his decision-making.
“Being decisive and believing in what you see,” head coach Mike Vrabel said on Wednesday about his quarterback. “Again, what we ask all our players to do is prepare to try to play fast and aggressively and make great decisions.
“Ultimately, it’s [Maye’s] responsibility to distribute the football as quickly and decisively as possible in the places that it’s supposed to go, continuing not to force things and try to just create a next play on every single play.”
Preventing the underthrows
If defenses are disrupting Maye’s timing, it could also be contributing to his uncharacteristic underthrows. Operating in the pocket while questioning decisions in the moment can alter his throwing mechanics and timing, causing passes to fall short.
Two of Maye’s takeaways resulted from passes coming up short, with the final one against the Seahawks being an ill-advised decision to force a pass rather than settle for a tying field-goal attempt.
That trend could make Sunday’s matchup especially challenging as Jacksonville’s defense excels at producing turnovers. Last season, the Jaguars ranked No. 2 in the NFL with 22 total interceptions, which was just one takeaway shy of the Bears in first. Throughout their two games thus far, they already have two.
Until Maye makes the necessary adjustment, the Patriots could be playing from behind on Sunday.
“One of the best things about getting new chances every week is having to let the other ones go,” Maye said on Wednesday. “That’s one of the best things about this sport and playing this position. You have to let plays go, and you want to be attacking the next play, learning from the ones in the past and getting after the next one.
“So, I definitely think [it’s] hard to play this position when you’re thinking about a lot of different things. It’s going to be natural to think about motions, fronts, defenses, what our guys are doing, route concepts and what they’re doing versus the play we have [set] up. So, just thinking and trying to be instinctive. That’s one of the best things I learned in college is to be instinctive and try to play as fast as you can back there.”
