New England Patriots - NESN.com
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye continues to draw rave reviews for his Week 2 performance.
Maye led New England to a 33-27 win over the Miami Dolphins by completing 19 of 23 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. The second-year pro also scored a rushing touchdown in the AFC East triumph at Hard Rock Stadium.
Maye’s teammates touted his outing, and the 23-year-old received another endorsement from a former quarterback. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky commended Maye during a Wednesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“I thought this was his best game as a professional,” Orlovsky declared.
Orlovsky credited offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for moving Maye outside the pocket to utilize his athleticism. He highlighted Maye’s success as the ESPN show played footage from the Week 2 matchup, including a pinpoint 16-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte in the second quarter.
“He throws so well on the run. I thought some of the ball-placement throws he had versus decent coverage was big time,” Orlovsky added. “His ball fakes have grown a lot. This throw to Boutte is absolutely perfect.”
Orlovsky compared Maye’s outing to the type of games seen from one past and one present star quarterback.
“There’s a lot of remnants in this game of Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Allen and just the style of play,” Orlovsky said. “… There’s a lot of stuff that looked like early guise of Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Allen, style-wise. Big time. He was awesome.”
The numbers back up Orlovsky’s claim of Maye playing a career game. He posted his highest quarterback rating (137.3) and QBR (77.5) since joining the Patriots and set a new personal-high with 10.0 yards per pass attempt.
Maye will attempt to carry that momentum into Sunday’s showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
