Drake Maye playing like MVP favorite has Patriots believing they can beat anyone

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Let’s go back in time for a minute. Specifically, I want to bring you to the first day of training camp for the New England Patriots. It was a hot, muggy July day in Foxborough, where this 2025 squad reconvened for the first time after the summer break. It was on that day when Drake Maye made a declaration: “[The Patriots] are tired of losing.” 

“I think that’s what excites me most,” the rising second-year quarterback said at the time about the upcoming 2025 regular season following a 4-13 rookie campaign. “Guys want to win around here. I think the past two or three years, around here in the past year for me, I can only speak for myself, but I think there’s guys around here that are tired of losing and want to win.” 

Fast forward now to Dec. 1 with 13 weeks of regular season action under their belts, and the Patriots are not just tired of losing, they’re allergic to it. 

After a 33-15 bludgeoning of the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football,” New England enters its bye week standing above every other team in the AFC. At 11-2, they are the No. 1 seed in the conference, hold a 2.5 game lead over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East, and have rattled off 10-straight wins. 

The Patriots are on this remarkable surge back to dominance on the shoulders of their young quarterback, who has rocketed to becoming an MVP frontrunner. 

“I think he’s realizing what he can be,” head coach Mike Vrabel said of his quarterback, “and what the impact that he makes on this offense and being the conductor. He’s hard on himself. I think that he challenges himself as well as his coaches. He means a great deal to this football team.” 

After completing 24 of his 31 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants, Maye leads the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating. If that holds, he’d become just the third quarterback in the last 50 seasons to lead in each category, joining Tom Brady (2007) and Kurt Warner (2001). Both went on to win MVP. 

What makes Maye’s completion percentage so impressive is that he’s no Checkdown Charlie. The 23-year-old is not afraid to go long, owning a masterful deep ball that has gained the reputation of being the best in the NFL. The latest example came on Monday night on his perfectly placed 33-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams.

Per Next Gen Stats, Maye completed 6 of his 8 passes beyond 10 air yards for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Giants. So far this season, he’s completed 88 such passes beyond 10 air yards for 1,865 yards. That’s over 200 yards more than any other quarterback. 

Maye’s prime time showcase coincided with Matthew Stafford, the MVP favorite entering Week 13, turning the ball over three times in the Los Angeles Rams’ upset loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Those developments have helped shift the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, where Maye is now the favorite at -125 over Stafford (+130). And it doesn’t feel like he’s going to let go of the rope down the stretch. 

Along with gaining the inside track at the MVP award, Maye’s monster leap in Year 2 now has the Patriots not just building towards a Super Bowl window, but suddenly in one.