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Drake Maye’s spotless prime time debut vs Bills shows Patriots QB is the future
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- Drake Maye’s spotless prime time debut vs Bills shows Patriots QB is the future
The post Drake Maye's spotless prime time debut vs Bills shows Patriots QB is the future appeared first on ClutchPoints .
We've seen enough: Drake Maye has asserted himself as one of the future faces of the NFL following the New England Patriots ' upset 23-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.
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The second-year quarterback was as good as any member of the Patriots or any Patriots could've hoped for against the Bills, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards to go with 12 rushing yards and a 101.1 passer rating. While Maye didn't have any touchdowns, he didn't have any turnovers.
And, most importantly, Maye outplayed Josh Allen . Of course, Allen still had a good game as he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns. But his interception in the red zone proved to be key as Maye wasn't the one who made the young quarterback mistakes.
Highlight plays from Patriots' win vs. Bills show why Drake Maye is the future
With the game on the line, Maye made two of the most impressive plays of his young career. On the first play of the game-winning drive, he avoided a sack by successfully stiff-arming a Bills rusher before tossing the out to an open Stefon Diggs to get a first down.
Maye's next throw essentially won the Patriots the game. He connected with Kayshon Boutte in a tight window along the sideline for a 19-yard gain to get the Patriots in field goal range.
But those plays came after a night of a few spectacular throws by Maye. Arguably, his best throw of the night came in the third quarter when he found Diggs streaking toward the sideline. He placed a practically perfect ball to the star wide receiver, who was able to stay in bounds for a 32-yard reception that set the Patriots up for a touchdown to take a 13-10 lead.
On the Patriots' next drive, Maye and Diggs played the sideline game again. This time, though, Diggs perfectly tapped his toes in bounds as he fell out of play to make a 10-yard grab on a third-and-7.
Those few plays between Maye and Diggs were the highlights of the star receiver's return to Buffalo. It also showed that Maye knows how to get the ball to his most talented receiver, completing 10 of his 12 targets to Diggs for 146 yards. Obviously, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can be credited for helping scheme up some open plays for Diggs. But after a second straight 100-yard game by the receiver, it's clear that Maye and Diggs have built a connection, and the quarterback has someone he can trust on downfield throws.
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As Maye was able to make plays with Diggs, though, there were some other complications with the Patriots' offense for much of the night. The ground game never got going, with the Patriots' running backs combining for a total of 59 yards on 19 carries. The offensive line was less than stellar. Outside of Diggs, no other receiver on the Patriots had more than three catches or 50 receiving yards.
So, that indicates that Maye was able to elevate his team around him, something that we typically ask of a quarterback if we want to consider them to be elite. Some weeks it's easier to do that, and it will be easy for Maye to lift his team when they're facing the Carolina Panthers or the Miami Dolphins of the league.
But Maye did it against the Buffalo Bills, the league's last remaining undefeated team, with the reigning MVP that's won the AFC East for the last five years on the road. He bested Josh Allen and the Bills in primetime while lifting his squad up.
Only special quarterbacks do that, and it's time that everyone admits it: Drake Maye is a special quarterback.
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Related: North Carolina football finally post Drake Maye highlight amid Bill Belichick's Patriots directive
