New England Patriots - NESN.com
Drake Maye’s MVP credentials received another notable endorsement before the New England Patriots play a big Week 10 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A panel of Fox Sports staffers named Maye their midseason MVP on Friday. Ben Arthur presented the case for the 23-year-old quarterback.
“Drake Maye has been the NFL’s most consistently dominant and efficient quarterback this season. And quite frankly, it’s not even close,” Arthur wrote.
“In Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons, the former UNC star recorded at least 200 passing yards and a 100-plus passer rating for the eighth straight game. He’s just the fourth quarterback in league history to accomplish that feat in a single season, according to Next Gen Stats. It so happens that the other passers to achieve the milestone — Peyton Manning (2004), Tom Brady (2007) and Aaron Rodgers (2011, 2020) — all won MVP that season.”
Maye would join Brady as the second Patriots player to ever win MVP. It’s looking increasingly feasible if the second-year star can maintain his current play over the final eight games.
Last year’s No. 3 pick leads the NFL with a 74.1 completion percentage that narrowly trails Drew Brees’ single-season record (74.4). Only Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson (in five games) have averaged more yards per attempt than Maye (9.0), who’s second to Jackson with a 116.9 quarterback rating.
Critics will question New England’s schedule and low-volume passing attack, but Maye has led the Patriots to a 7-2 start that includes a massive road win over the Buffalo Bills. He’s thrown just four interceptions while accounting for 19 touchdowns.
Maye is currently third to Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen with +400 odds to win MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook. He could inch closer to becoming a favorite by leading the Patriots to a victory at Tampa Bay this Sunday.
