The New England Patriots entered the second half trailing 13-3 to their division opponent Miami Dolphins, while Drake Maye threw for just 53 yards during the Patriots' first half struggles. When Maye came out of the break, he wore the helmet of an MVP-caliber quarterback, leading his team to comeback victory on the road against a divisional opponent.
In the second half, Maye threw for 146 yards and completed all but one passing attempt. He held a perfect passer rating of 158.3 and notched three total touchdowns.
His first score was a familiar sight for Patriots fans, as he found Kyle Williams 43 yards down the field for a touchdown. His second passing touchdown came in the fourth quarter on a scrambling throw to DeMario Douglas on the sideline, who finished the 48-yard score with his legs to give the Patriots a two-score lead.
Nov 1, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
With those two passing touchdowns, Maye holds the lead for most passing touchdowns of 30-plus yards (14) over the course of the past two seasons. This was also Maye's fifth-straight game with two or more passing touchdowns.
One of Maye's best plays wasn't attributed to his talented arm. The 24-year-old ran to his right on an option play, faked a toss to Rhamondre Stevenson, and cut past the defender who followed Maye's phantom pitch. The two-yard score gave New England the lead and shifted the energy of the game.
Maye compared his rushing touchdown to a two-on-one fast break in basketball.
"Hopefully you make the guy guess wrong and we did," he said postgame.
In addition to his impressive second half statistics, Maye had an 80% completion rate, completing 16-of-20 passing attempts - his best completion percentage of the season.
Maye contributed the offense's first half conservativeness to the rain impacting their game plan. He said, "This ball, you see different times with the weather, it can be an issue."
The third-year superstar quarterback was also able to lead the Patriots to their fifth win of the season without three of his top wideout receivers in A.J. Brown, Mack Hollins, and Romeo Doubs. Their victory over Miami was the second time this season New England was able to leave with a win after trailing at halftime ( their win against Buffalo in Week 4 was the other occurence).
Nov 1, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) runs the ball for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"He'll be a great quarterback in the National Football League," head coach Mike Vrabel said.
"He just throws to the open guy and controls our offense and gets guys in the right spot," Vrabel said when asked about playing with a dwindled receiver group. "That's being one of the best quarterbacks in the league, that's what the job description requires."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Drake Maye's Near-Perfect Second Half Leads Patriots to Win Over Miami .
