Drake Maye’s Unreal Consistency Puts Him in Same Class as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Peyton Manning

The New England Patriots survived a close scare on Sunday (November 2) afternoon against the Atlanta Falcons. The victory maintained their top position in the AFC East and moved them closer to the Indianapolis Colts in the battle for the conference top seeding.

The Patriots surged to an early lead before the Falcons capitalized on the fourth quarter to finish out 24-23. Drake Maye, the second-year quarterback for the Patriots and a leading candidate for the MVP this season, came through once again, throwing 19-of-29 for 259 yards, grabbing 2 touchdowns and one interception. Maye finished with a passer rating of 102.5, his eighth straight game with a passer rating over 100.

Heading into the Gillette Stadium for the Falcons game, Maye was among the five players who have thrown for 200 yards with a passer rating over in seven straight games. The other four on the list are: Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady. After Week 9, Maye now has eight straight games with more than 200 passing yards and a passer rating above 100.

He’s one of four now. Rodgers has done it twice, while Brady and Manning did it once. At 23, Maye is the youngest ever to do so. Rodgers holds the record for most consecutive games with more than 200 passing yards and a passer rating above 100 at 11 straight games. He set the record in 2011, a season where he led the Green Bay Packers to a near-perfect 15-1 record.

Drake Maye has been extremely consistent this season, a fact reflected in the Patriots’ standings in the league. He’s ranked fifth in passing yards (2,285) and tied for sixth in passing touchdowns (17). He also has a low interception count with just four across the nine games.

The Patriots offensive line needs to step up its game and protect Drake Maye more

The chances of Drake Maye potentially matching the record set by Aaron Rodgers in 2011 hinges on the offensive line and how they protect him. Despite the win against the Atlanta Falcons, the game exposed some weaknesses in the front.

The Patriots had an early lead in the game, being ahead by 14 points in the second quarter on a 1st-and-10 when Maye was strip-sacked by Jalon Walker. The sack led the Falcons to drive a play of their own and close the gap with a touchdown and an ensuing extra point. The story continued in the second half when Maye almost came close to fumbling away the ball one more time.

The big picture is that Maye was sacked six times in the last game. Sure, it was against the best pass defense in the league. But he is ranked second on the list of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league, just below rookie Cam Ward.

Maye has been successfully targeted by opponent defenses 28 times, and in the last three games alone, a whopping 16 times. The barrage of sacks did eventually affect the young quarterback in the Falcons’ game as he struggled more as the game wore on.

There are a few more takeaways from the game sans the ball-security issues. The Patriots can’t let the game get this tense and can’t miss the crucial field goals that could make or break the game.

Last but not least, the defense. They were more than fine and held the fort down when the offense was making grave errors. However, they also had their fair share of mistakes. The Pats defense did contain the explosive RB Bijan Robinson, but failed with respect to Drake London. The Falcons’ QB also had an easy afternoon with limited pressures on him, courtesy of the Patriots’ defense sacking him only once.

As the Patriots cling to the top spot in the division, they will need to iron out these miscues as they head down south to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Also Read: (Video) Travis Kelce Mocks Hostile Buffalo Crowd During Heated Clash with Bills

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