The Bills open division play Sunday against a quarterback off to the worst stretch of his career, and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is treating him like a problem anyway.
Buffalo's coaching staff met with reporters Monday to close the book on the Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers and turn the page to the first divisional game of the season against the New England Patriots. The biggest topic was New England quarterback Drake Maye, who makes for a "tricky" evaluation this week, per Leonhard.
Maye was in the MVP conversation last season, ranking third in passing touchdowns (31), leading the NFL in passer rating (113.5), completion percentage (72%) and finished tied for lead in win percentage (.824). This against what many considered to be
an easy schedule, before getting cooked by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
He has since thrown one touchdown pass against six interceptions and been sacked nine times through three games. That is a far cry from the player Leonhard spent late January getting ready to face in the AFC Championship.
"You turn on the tape from last year, and it was dynamic," the Bills DC said. "We played him in Denver, obviously at the end of the year, and you got to see the best version of what he was going into that game."
Last season, Maye threw for nearly 4,400 yards with 31 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores while carrying the Patriots to an AFC East title and a Super Bowl appearance. The playoffs went the other way: Denver held him without a touchdown and dropped him five times in the AFC Championship, and Seattle picked him off twice while sacking him six more times in the Super Bowl.
He sees the matchup against Buffalo as an opportunity to right the ship.
"This is an opportunity to band together and realize that the best football that we play is together and realizing that starts with me with protecting the football and protecting this team," Maye said. "That's my job, and I've been failing to do that."
Leonhard called Maye's postseason slide — four interceptions and 21 sacks across four games — "slip ups" next to "MVP level" regular-season film, and the struggles have bled into 2026. Maye and the Patriots arrive in Buffalo with the league's lowest-scoring offense at 12.0 points per game.
"You're watching a guy now that's you can tell he's going through some stuff and struggling a little bit, but at the same time he drops back and hits his top step and lets one rip and it's an explosive play," he added.
"You just have to put some pressure on him and hope that the trend continues. Great players are eventually going to come out the other side. You just hope it's after you play them."
The Bills head coach shared his thoughts on facing the Patriots QB with the press today as well.
“It is a week to week-to-week league, and it is so hard to play the position," Joe Brady said. "Drake Maye, he's an outstanding quarterback, he’s played for so long at such a high level, he is going to present so many issues for us this week.”
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills react to tough start for Patriots QB Drake Maye
