The turnaround for the New England Patriots
in 2025 was something to behold. Going from four wins in 2024 to a Super Bowl appearance, they were led by a stout defense under head coach Mike Vrabel and by Drake Maye
turning into a legitimate MVP candidate.
However, the start of the 2026 season has been nothing short of a disaster. At 1-2, they already have losses to the Seattle Seahawks
and the Jacksonville Jaguars
. But the biggest worry for fans of the team has to be the state of play from their supposed franchise QB.
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Former Linebacker Is Losing Belief in Drake Maye
Last year, Maye was virtually without flaw as he finished in the pole position on PFN's Quarterback Impact Metrics and finished only behind Matthew Stafford
in MVP voting. But a worrying trend emerged during the postseason.
Even as the Patriots were able to run through the AFC, Maye was far from elite, as he threw for six touchdowns against four interceptions and fumbled the ball 7 times. The hope was that he could fix those issues this season.
But through three games, he seems to have gone in the opposite direction. He already has six interceptions and two fumbles this season, and Emmanuel Acho
believes it can all be traced back to Super Bowl 60.
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"The Seattle Seahawks broke Drake Maye," the former Philadelphia Eagles
star announced on the latest episode of the "Speakeasy" podcast.
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"Since that Super Bowl, he has seven turnovers, he has one touchdown."
The Patriots have struggled offensively through three games, scoring 10 points against Seattle and just six against Jaguars.
The game against the Jaguars in Week 3 might have been the worst performance from Maye.
Committing three turnovers, including two interceptions, he even lost a fumble without a defender making contact. As a result, the Patriots lost 35-6, with a game against the red-hot 3-0 Buffalo Bills
coming up in Week 4.
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"Completion percentage, atrocious. Sacks at a high clip. Fumbles, fumbled three times in a game. It's just been atrocious. Now, you have to ask yourself why? Obviously, on the outside, you're not that good. Plus A.J. Brown
is hurt. So it's not like he has that much help."
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But for Acho, that doesn't excuse Maye's production, as he argued, "Drake Maye, you cannot go into Year 3 after the sophomore season that you had and look this bad. Also, we can't forget, we gotta remember the tape, he didn't look good in the playoffs."
Relitigating their postseason run, he pointed out, "Against the Houston Texans
, Drake Maye [expletive]. Against the Seahawks, Drake Maye was bad. Against the Denver Broncos
, Drake Maye was average as hell. And now the first few games of the season, he's been awful."
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It remains to be seen if something can change in the coming weeks for Maye. Brown returning to the lineup could potentially open up some things for him in the passing game. But as things currently stand, the warning alarms are loud in New England
about what has gone wrong with their quarterback.
This article originally appeared on
Pro Football Network
.
