Morning Sports Update

Mike Vrabel is not falling into the trap of comparing Drake Maye to Tom Brady

"He's got a lot of years to go."

Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel have helped the Patriots get out to a 5-2 start this season. (Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini)

By Conor Roche

4 minutes to read

What Mike Vrabel said when asked what’s similar between Drake Maye and Tom Brady: Drake Maye’s not only doing things that no other Patriots quarterback besides Tom Brady has done, but he’s also doing things that the seven-time Super Bowl winner never did.

However, as Maye has put himself in the MVP conversation halfway through his second season, his head coach doesn’t want to start comparing him to Brady. When Mike Vrabel was asked if there was anything that Maye does that reminds him of Brady during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” the Patriots head coach made a joke about the two of them.

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“No, he doesn’t drive a yellow Jeep to work,” Vrabel said. “I’d say that’s one thing that’s different.”

Putting the jokes aside, though, Vrabel didn’t want to entertain the comparisons between Maye and Brady as players.

“I don’t even think it’s accurate. He’s got a lot of years to go,” Vrabel said. “I do love Drake’s youthful energy. He’s 23 years old. I’m like, God, I’ve got kids who are 23 years old. So, that’s been fun. That’s been fun to have that energy around him.”

Maye still has a long way to go to even come within striking distance of what Brady accomplished. But if you compare where both quarterbacks were statistically through this point in their respective careers, Maye would have the edge. Maye’s thrown for 1,744 yards, 12 touchdowns, and two interceptions to go with 200 rushing yards and two rushing scores.

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Brady, meanwhile, was finding his footing as the Patriots’ starting quarterback, replacing Drew Bledsoe halfway through his second season. He had 1,069 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions at this point in the 2001 season.

With 2001 being Brady’s first year as a starter, it should be noted that he had 1,819 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions through the first seven games in his second season as a starting quarterback. Of course, Brady also won a Super Bowl in between those two seasons.

As Maye has put up strong volume numbers, what’s arguably the most impressive part of his play this season has been his efficiency. Maye leads the league in completion percentage (75.2 percent) and is second in passer rating (116.4).

That efficiency was on full display in the Patriots’ 31-13 victory over the Titans in Week 7. Maye completed 21 of 23 passes (91.3 percent) for 222 yards and two touchdowns in that game. That completion percentage mark set a Patriots franchise record for a single game (minimum 20 passing attempts), breaking a 16-year-old record Brady had.

Following the win, Maye also made headlines for presenting Vrabel with the game ball as the Patriots head coach defeated the team he previously coached.

“I appreciated that,” Vrabel told Eisen. “That was cool to see him do that. I appreciated it. This will always be about the players, you know that. They’re the ones that go out there, play this game, and make the plays. We’re just an extension of them and we’re excited for them when we do well.”

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Trivia: If it were to hold, Drake Maye’s 116.4 passer rating this season would be better than the passer rating Tom Brady had in all but one season of his career. Which Brady season tops that mark?

(Hint: The Patriots didn’t win a Super Bowl that year.)

Scores and schedule:

The Bruins lost again on Thursday, this time to the Ducks. Their 7-5 loss marked their sixth in a row, falling to 3-6 on the year. The Bruins will try to end their six-game losing streak when they host the Avalanche on Sunday. Puck drop for that game is set for 3 p.m.

As for the Celtics, they’re back on the court twice this weekend. They travel to New York to face the Knicks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday before taking on the Pistons in Detroit at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Finally, the Patriots are looking to move their winning streak to five games in a row when they host the Browns at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Read more from Boston.com:

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The defending champion Thunder are 2-0 to start the 2025-26 season, but they needed 10 extra minutes in both games to come away with a victory. After defeating the Rockets on Tuesday, they took down the Pacers, 141-135, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 55 points.

Alex Bregman named Silver Slugger finalist

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As Bregman contemplates his future, he might be getting an award soon. He was named one of the three finalists for the American League Silver Slugger Award at third base. Bregman hit .273 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, and a .821 OPS in 2025. Junior Caminero of the Rays and Jose Ramirez of the Guardians join Bregman as finalists at third base.

On this day

Eighteen years ago on Friday, the Red Sox delivered one of their largest wins ever in the World Series. They took down the Rockies, 13-1, in Game 1 of the 2007 Fall Classic.

In that game, Dustin Pedroia hit a leadoff home run, while Josh Beckett logged nine strikeouts in seven innings. The Red Sox wound up winning the next three games, sweeping the Rockies to win their second World Series in four seasons.

Daily highlight

Steph Curry made another jaw-dropping, deep 3-pointer in the Warriors’ victory over the Nuggets on Thursday. With Golden State trailing by three in the final 30 seconds, Curry used a screen to get an open look from deep to tie the game. The game wound up going to overtime, and Curry finished with 42 points in the victory.

Trivia answer: 2007

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