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Drake Maye Is On The Verge of Making History

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The Patriots survived the Houston Texans’ defense and advanced to the AFC Championship game. Per Fox Sports, the Patriots faced two of the top-five total defenses (LA Chargers #5, Texans #1), and another awaits this weekend. The Denver Broncos are the #2-ranked total defense and host the Patriots for a chance to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LX. Drake Maye could become the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat three top-five defenses in a single postseason.

Drake Maye’s Playoff Performance

Through two games, Maye passed for 447 yards on a 59.8 completion percentage. It’s not the caliber of play we saw from him during the regular season, but he has been productive. He’s thrown four touchdowns and only two interceptions. That’s tied for the most touchdown passes in these playoffs. Maye has been impressive while playing some of the league’s toughest defenses and come out on top.

However, Maye has not been perfect. In the two games he’s played, he’s fumbled the ball six times. His biggest issue as a player right now is his ball security. The Patriots’ defense stepped up in a big way to get the team out of tough situations following turnovers. Maye simply has to be better at feeling the pressure coming. The offensive line needs to help him as well. The blame is ultimately on Maye for losing control of the ball, but the offensive line has not given him much support up front. Specifically, Will Campbell had a rough outing in his first career playoff run. He’s allowed four sacks in the past two games.

Campbell may still be recovering from the knee injury that kept him out for roughly a month at the end of the regular season, but the opposing defenses don’t care about his recovery. His next challenge is Nik Bonitto, which is no drop off from the level he’s faced in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Patriots’ Media Disrespect

Maye had to grind out those victories in his first two playoff games. There’s been a lot of discussion about the Patriots’ strength of schedule during the regular season and even throughout the playoffs. The same people who picked the Texans to beat the Patriots are now saying that the Patriots only won because C.J. Stroud struggled.

People in the media have an answer for everything that has led up to the Patriots being one game away from the Super Bowl. However, none of those answers have anything to do with the Patriots. The disrespect is loud. But the Patriots heard it all.

If the Patriots win on Sunday, Maye becomes the first quarterback to beat three top-five defenses in one playoff run, regardless of how they get it done. There are no asterisks in the record books.