New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots entered their Week 5 Sunday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo as significant underdogs. Not only were the Patriots on the road, but they were also going up against the undefeated Bills and the reigning NFL MVP, Josh Allen.
None of that fazed Drake Maye, however, who led New England to a shocking 23-20 upset in his first career primetime game.
The 23-year-old quarterback delivered one of the best performances of his young career thus far, completing 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and a 101.1 passer rating. He also added 12 yards on three rushing attempts.
The big key for Maye was not making any major mistakes. He didn’t turn the ball over and played a clean game, hitting 73.3% of his passes and keeping the chains moving.
Meanwhile, Allen turned the ball over twice via an interception and a fumble. He played well otherwise with over 300 total yards (passing and rushing) and two touchdown passes, but it wasn’t enough.
When the dust settled after Andres Borregales’ game-winning 52-yard field goal, it was Maye — not Allen — who walked out of Highmark Stadium with a stunning win.
In the process, Maye became the second-youngest starting QB in NFL history to beat the reigning MVP quarterback on the road (per OptaSTATS). The youngest was Dan Marino (22), who outdueled Joe Theismann shortly before his 23rd birthday in 1984.
Maye has a long way to go before he can start being compared to Marino, but it’s impressive company nevertheless. It speaks to his enormous potential and ceiling at such a young age, which explains why many Patriots fans are so excited about him and his career growth.
If Maye keeps it up, he’s going to make plenty more history by the time he’s finished.
