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Drake Maye continues to play beyond his years, even in imperfect win over Bengals
Maye didn’t just battle back from bad plays. He made big plays when the Patriots found themselves in tenuous circumstances, especially in the second half.
CINCINNATI — Drake Maye is just 23 years old, and to us ain’t-that-young-anymore folks, he doesn’t even look that old when he’s authentically aw-shucksing his way through a press conference.
There is one time when he usually looks much older than his years: when he’s at work on the football field.
In his second NFL season, the immensely talented Maye has played with the poise and precision of a quarterback who has far more than his 25 games of NFL experience. He is a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate, and should remain so even after an occasionally spotty performance in the Patriots’ tense 26-20 victory Sunday over the Bengals — one in which he looked like the relatively inexperienced quarterback that he is, at least in the early going.
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Maye completed 22 of 35 passes for 294 yards — a career-high in a game that was nowhere near his career-best — with a touchdown and an interception.
The interception was instantly regrettable. On the second play of the second quarter, he airmailed a throw beyond tight end Hunter Henry into the waiting arms of Bengals safety Geno Stone, who returned it 32 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 Cincinnati lead.
“They had some good stuff, and I didn’t do the right thing and get to the right looks,’’ said Maye of the Bengals’ defense. “I’ve got to be better, I’ve got to be better at the line of scrimmage. Credit to them for catching us some, but I’ve got to do my part to help us play cleaner football.”
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Stone’s pick-6 came after a first quarter in which Maye went 2 for 5 for 10 yards, missing a couple of receivers by wide margins. On the Patriots radio broadcast, analyst Scott Zolak said it appeared Maye had hit his hand on a helmet on his second throw of the game, but Maye was not seen shaking his hand.
When asked after the game, he offered a long “ummmm” before vaguely denying that his hand bothered him early in the game.
“Not that I can think of,” he said, “Sometimes it’s just not trusting the throw. Got to let it go. That’s when I’m throwing it best and on time and feeling the best. I wasn’t very accurate early on and kind of found a groove.”
That he did, and characteristically, on the drive after Stone’s pick-6. Maye has a knack for putting bad plays immediately out of mind — another thing about him that’s more typical of experienced quarterbacks — and so he went about making sure the game didn’t get away.
Maye led the Patriots on a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, culminating with a 28-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hunter Henry, who had a monster day with seven catches for 115 yards.
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On the play immediately preceding the TD, Maye found Henry with a perfectly placed throw — his best of the day to that point — for 12 yards to convert a third and 2.
It was a sign that Maye had shaken off whatever was affecting him early in the game and had found his rhythm. After starting 3 for 8 for 16 yards, he completed his next seven passes for 104 yards and the TD to Henry.
“That’s what this league is about,’’ said Maye. “It’s about [overcoming] adversity. That’s what coach is preaching all the time. . . . Battle back from the bad plays.”
Maye didn’t just battle back from bad plays. He made big plays when the Patriots found themselves in tenuous circumstances, especially in the second half. It’s something he’s been doing all season, another attribute usually found in quarterbacks of far greater experience.
On the Patriots’ first series of the second half, facing third and 11 and backed up to their own 9, Maye threw a strike to DeMario Douglas for 37 yards. Early in the fourth, leading, 20-13, and dealing with a first-and-20 situation, Maye connected with Henry for a 23-yard catch and run. Perhaps his biggest throw of the day came on third and 11 at midfield with just over three minutes left, when he found Stefon Diggs for 14 yards.
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Maye played better even as the Patriots dealt with worrisome attrition on the offensive line. Rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson both left with injuries, and coach Mike Vrabel’s grouchy mood afterward suggested they are not anticipating good news.
“Probably not his best performance,’’ said Vrabel regarding Maye. “Give [the Bengals] credit. [He] came up with some good throws.”
It was a tougher win than anticipated, for sure, and it’s somewhat concerning that the Patriots did not tear through the Bengals’ 32nd-ranked defense. But a big-picture reminder may be necessary: No one expected any of this back in September, and no win should be taken for granted. The Patriots are 6-0 on the road, have won nine in a row — their longest winning streak since 2015 — and became the first team this season to 10 victories. Remarkable.
Nitpicking a flawed but frequently excellent performance by Maye is a reminder that the bar has been raised, and he, more than anyone, is responsible for hoisting it so high.
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