Karen Guregian: Drake Maye & Co. are on to conquering the next dominant defense

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Karen Guregian: Drake Maye & Co. are on to conquering the next dominant defense

Karen Guregian · MassLive

Tue, Jan 20, 2026 ·

4 min read

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FOXBOROUGH - Since the playoffs began, the degree of difficulty with opposing defenses has seemingly grown exponentially from week to week.

The Chargers touted a Top 5 unit. The Texans were the NFL’s No. 1 defense.

On Sunday, the gauntlet continues. The Broncos are a notch below the Texans at No. 2 allowing just 18.3 points per game.

It shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise that Drake Maye and the Patriots offense have struggled at times during the postseason, but not to the point where they haven’t produced.

Maye threw three touchdown passes against that vaunted Texans secondary. No other quarterback was able to do that this season.

And each of those strikes to DeMario Douglas , Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte were perfectly thrown balls.

Against the Chargers, Maye threw just one TD pass, but it was one of the best throws he’s made all season. He feathered a ball to Hunter Henry downfield, hitting his tight end on a pivotal 28-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

It hasn’t all been pretty. Far from it.

Maye has to clean up his fumbling issue. More times than not, sacks have resulted in fumbles.

The Texans took him down five times. He fumbled on four of those plays, losing it twice.

The Chargers also sacked him five times. He fumbled twice, losing it once.

Even with that, Maye continues to make big-time passes during the big-time moments to help make up for the miscues.

He’ll need more of that, and fewer turnovers against the Broncos. While Jarrett Stidham is going to have his hands full with the Patriots defense, Maye is still going to have to deliver.

“They’ll be the best defense that we’ve played to date, because it’s the next one. That’s just how this goes,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence. They’re good on the perimeter, really good up front. The athleticism, they have size, they put a lot of pressure on you. That’s just how this thing goes. Each and every week, they get tougher.”

The Broncos unit isn’t as good as the Texans outfit. They’ve allowed points. they surrendered 30 to the Bills in the divisional round, and 34 to the Jaguars Week 16.

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Of late, the Patriots offense has fallen a bit under the radar during the postseason. The defense has stolen the headlines, and deserve being in the spotlight.

But it’s also worth noting that Maye and his unit, a prolific offense during the regular season, is still doing enough to win games against the AFC’s best defensive units.

Yes, the strip sacks have to go. Maye has to be better with the football, and his offensive line - Will Campbell in particular - needs to step it up with pass protection.

It’s not going to get any easier with Broncos. Linebacker Nik Bonitto had 14 regular season sacks.

In the final analysis, however, the Patriots should be encouraged by the impressive scoring drives Maye has produced.

All three against the Texans were crucial.

“We knew we had a tough challenge. Every drive wasn’t what we wanted it to be like, not every one, but we had a few touchdown drives that were huge for us,” Maye said during his weekly appearance on WEEI. And the defense helped us out with one. So I’m proud of the guys for battling through some tough times."

Ultimately, Maye knows he’s better for having gone through the wringer the past few weeks.

“I think it’s an awesome experience for me,” Maye said. “Playoff football, when the pressure’s on the high, and your season’s on the line, and it’s win or go home, or win and advance, it’s awesome for me live in these games, go out there after a fumble, or battle adversity ... it’s great training for me.

“Obviously, I hold the offense and my play to a high standard. And I’m the engine of the offense with the offensive line. We have some work to do. I’m confident the guys will go out there, have a good week of practice and showcase that on Sunday.”

Thus far, the formula has worked for the Patriots. Dominant defense, and an offense that delivers in the clutch.

One more game like that in the AFC championship, and the Patriots will punch their ticket to San Francisco and the Super Bowl.

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