Rich Weighs In on Patriots QB Drake Maye’s Regression from MVP Contender to Completely Lost

A year ago, Rich went back and forth on his MVP vote. Some days he was sure it was Drake Maye. Other days he was sure it wasn't, and that is where he eventually landed. Now he is asking a very different question about the Patriots quarterback.

"How does Drake Maye get his groove back?" Rich said. "That's the question. Cuz his groove is gone."

The slide, in Rich's view, started in the playoffs. Maye began doing things Rich hadn't seen from him all season, including fumbles that made Rich wonder whether he was hurt and the team wasn't letting on. Then came Denver, where Maye made the plays, including calling his own number at the end without telling anybody. Rich's impression of that moment: "I'm going to send us to the Super Bowl," and to his coaches, "Follow me to freedom."

Super Bowl Sunday was dreadful. Rich has rewatched it multiple times, partly because he is "a lead pipe wielding professional" and partly because NFL Network keeps airing it. There are stretches where Maye is on point and you wonder how they lost, and then he throws one over the middle with the Patriots down two scores and that's the end of it.

This season has not reset anything. In Seattle, the Patriots did enough in three quarters to be in position to win, then the defense gave up a massive touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Maye threw three interceptions, one of which set up that score. Then came the Jaguars, and Rich did not soften it. "Crushed him. Crushed his soul," he said, which is what Liam Coen's Jaguars can do to a quarterback, as Deshaun Watson and Bo Nix found out earlier this season.

The numbers from that game are rough. Two interceptions and a lost fumble. A fourth straight regular season game under 250 passing yards, dating to Week 18 last season. Six interceptions in three games, the most by a Patriots quarterback through three games since Drew Bledsoe in 1994. An ESPN QBR of 11.9, the lowest by a Patriots starter since Bailey Zappe's final game of 2023.

Maye said the right things afterward. "I'm always going to be confident in myself to make plays," he said, adding that the mistakes have to be eliminated and that "it starts in practice and starts with me."

Rich's comparison was a painful one. Maye reminds him of the Mac Jones he saw in Germany, a game Rich called, when Jones looked lost and Bill Belichick pulled him for Zappe. Jones needed a hug, Rich said, and didn't have a coach who would give him one. Mike Vrabel is different, the guy who daps everyone up win or lose. But even Vrabel couldn't sugarcoat this. "My concern level is very high for this football team," he said. "We have to take care of the football."

Rich noticed Vrabel said "team," not "quarterback." The first four regular season losses under Vrabel came by a combined 21 points. This one was by 29. And A.J. Brown, Rich noted, is not walking through that door.

Next up is Buffalo, followed by a Raiders team that could arrive at 4-0. Rich, zagging on purpose, floated a sliver of hope: the new stadium is built to keep the noise in, and last year in Buffalo is where Maye let it rip and beat Josh Allen with his arm and legs.

Chris wasn't buying it. "The Patriots offense is dreadful," Chris said. They have 30 points in three games against a Bills team averaging 33 a game. He predicted the Patriots would get the doors blown off and that there would be real conversations about benching Maye, "which is insane."

Chris's diagnosis was the supporting cast. TreVeyon Henderson is a game-breaker who can't stay on the field because he can't pass protect, and the interception in the end zone on third and two was headed to Efton Chism, the team's sixth receiver. "I would be shocked if they win six games," Chris said.