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Drake Maye outplays Caleb Williams in showdown between rookie QBs
"Just really trying to challenge those guys and challenge myself to take each play and know that when the game comes and this play’s called, it matters."
Drake Maye’s primary focus entering Week 10 against the Chicago Bears was righting the ship after a disheartening overtime loss to the Titans.
But the 22-year-old rookie QB was candid when asked about the added motivation of facing off against one of the two signal-callers taken ahead of him in the 2024 NFL Draft in Caleb Williams.
“Really with Caleb, I’ve seen him since high school,” Maye said on Wednesday at Gillette “We’d go to the same camps. We were at the Elite 11 (camp) with each other. We got some college visits together. … Any time you’re going against a rookie quarterback in the same class, or any quarterback in your class in general, it’s a little extra.”
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In a season where silver linings have been few and far between for a rebuilding Patriots team, Sunday’s matchup between the No. 1 and No. 3 picks in April’s draft stood as an avenue for New England fans to gauge where their franchise signal-caller measured up in an already promising QB class.
Sure enough, Sunday’s performance validated that New England’s current struggles could be offset in the future by Maye’s potential.
Even at this stage of New England’s arduous rebuild, it looks like the Patriots already have an impact player under center, one that easily out-dueled the 2024 Draft’s top pick on Sunday at Soldier Field.
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He didn’t stuff the stat sheet to the same degree as during last week’s loss to the Titans (301 total yards). But Maye still made the necessary plays to lift New England to a much-needed 19-3 win over Williams and the Bears.
Maye was quick to credit New England’s dominant defensive effort (nine sacks), but the rookie still completed 15 of his 25 throws, finishing with 208 total yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“Drake still continues to go out there and make plays,” Coach Jerod Mayo said of his QB. “He’s going to make mistakes, but this is part of his evolution, it’s part of his growth and development.”
On the opposite sideline, Williams struggled to generate much of anything against New England’s defense. The former USC product and Heisman Trophy winner only completed 16 of his 30 throws for 120 total yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Chicago’s porous pass protection has been an issue all season, with the Bears giving up 6+ sacks in back-to-back games for the first time since 1993. But even with Chicago’s patchwork line, Williams also didn’t make things any easier on himself when it came to either holding onto the ball for too long or opting to take a hit instead of scrambling for extra yardage.
After leading Chicago to a 4-2 record out of the gate, Williams and the Bears have now lost three straight games. Over this losing skid, Williams has only completed 48-of-95 throws for 468 yards, generating zero touchdowns and zero interceptions during that stretch.
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Chicago averaged just 2.4 yards per play on Sunday against New England, with the Bears only converting one of their 14 third-down situations.
Despite Williams’ struggles, the Bears at least have some playmaking talent around him with pass-catchers like Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, and Keenan Allen.
Maye has had to work with much less out of the gate in New England, but the rookie did enough to make plays in critical situations on Sunday.
Maye responded to adversity after coughing up an interception on what should have been an easy throw-away at the end of the first quarter. After that turnover, Maye responded by leading New England on a pair of scoring drives at the end of the first half.
As the minutes ticked off the clock before halftime, New England reeled off a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Maye hitting Ja’Lynn Polk for a two-yard touchdown. Maye completed all five of his throws for 54 yards on that drive.
Maye and New England got the ball back with 35 seconds left in the second half after Williams and Chicago’s offense punted the ball away. Even with limited time left on the clock, New England went 36 yards down the field off of five plays — headlined by a 23-yard pickup from Kayshon Boutte through the air.
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By the time Maye spiked the ball in field-goal territory, New England had just one second left on the clock, setting the Patriots up for a Joey Slye kick and a 13-3 lead at halftime.
“Just being a competitor,” Maye said of bouncing back after his interception. “I think just knowing and having confidence in myself. I know that’s not my style of football, turning the football over like that.
“And just growing up and playing different sports and having older brothers and being able to bounce back after getting dunked on a mini-hoop … Whether it’s that or just facing adversity throughout the season, I think more and more times, not everything’s gonna go right, not everything’s gonna go perfect.”
Beyond his strides made on the field since supplanting Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starting QB, Maye is also evolving into a leader for a New England team looking to reassert itself on the NFL landscape.
During Fox’ broadcast on Sunday, sideline reporter Laura Okmin said that Maye addressed the team after a subpar practice on Wednesday. Maye confirmed his team-wide speech, stressing that he wanted to take more ownership of trying the right the ship amid a 2-7 start in 2024.
“Just really trying to challenge those guys and challenge myself to take each play and know that when the game comes and this play’s called, it matters,” Maye said. “There are so many times throughout the game you see how much that play can impact the turnout of the game. So, I was just trying to get through to them. Probably fumbled some words trying to do it, but I think those guys respected it.”
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Sunday’s loss might stand as a blip in an otherwise promising career for Williams in Chicago.
But for now, Patriots fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
The top of the 2024 NFL Draft leaderboard was stacked with talent at the quarterback position. But Maye was the lone QB among the top trio of Williams, Jayden Daniels, and himself to leave the field with a W.
Be it on the gridiron or in the locker room, Maye looks like the real deal in New England.
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