The most troubling part of Drake Maye’s start isn’t simply the turnovers. It is how far removed he has looked from the quarterback who finished second in the NFL MVP race last season and appeared to have established himself as New England’s long-term answer.
Sunday’s 35-6 loss to Jacksonville only intensified the concern. Maye committed three turnovers in the defeat, taking his early-season total to six interceptions and a lost fumble as the Patriots fell to 1-2 and remained stuck at the bottom of the league in scoring.
Maye didn’t attempt to hide from the performance afterward. “I gotta look myself in the mirror and take this as a turning point,” he said. “It’s Week 3, and at the same time we gotta get some fuel and realize that what we’re doing out there offensively is unacceptable.”
Patriots fans fear something is badly wrong
Supporters have watched the downturn with growing alarm, particularly because Maye’s struggles have extended beyond one poor afternoon. Missed throws, bad decisions and costly turnovers have become recurring features of an offense that has produced only 29 points through three games.
Barstool Sports founder and Patriots fan Dave Portnoy summed up the mood by calling for an “intervention.” “You can’t win in the NFL when your QB is playing like he is right now,” Portnoy wrote. “Missing wide open guys for easy Td’s, dropping the ball, throwing horrible Int’s.”
The circumstances around Maye have hardly helped. New England has been without No.1 receiver A.J. Brown because of a high ankle sprain, while injuries on the offensive line have left the quarterback under considerably more pressure than he faced during his breakout 2025 season.
Opposing defenses have also changed their approach. Maye is seeing more zone coverage and more two-high safety looks, limiting the aggressive downfield opportunities he punished last year while forcing him to stay patient and work through shorter, more crowded throwing windows.
Maye trying to do too much
Head coach Mike Vrabel doesn’t appear to believe Maye’s problems require a dramatic solution. His concern is that the quarterback is pressing, trying to create a big play on every snap instead of allowing the offense to develop naturally.
Vrabel explained it with a golf analogy. “Sometimes we’re so focused on it, we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” he said.
“We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax. We need to settle in and go play football and not try to force things that aren’t there.”
There has been no suggestion Maye is in danger of losing his job, and teammates have continued to defend him publicly. Receiver Romeo Doubs described the offensive problems as collective, pointing to execution and fundamentals rather than placing the responsibility on one player.
The timing of the slump is still dangerous. New England now travels to face an unbeaten Buffalo team, and another defeat would leave the defending AFC champions in an early hole with their quarterback still searching for the form that made him one of the league’s brightest young stars.
Maye’s talent hasn’t disappeared. The challenge is whether he can stop chasing the player he was last season long enough to become comfortable again.
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