I don't mean to sound like Captain Obvious, but I'm going to anyway: the New England Patriots desperately need Drake Maye to bounce back after a horrific Week 1 performance.
Maye has been on a stretch of bad games dating back to the start of last season's playoffs (I can maybe give him his Wild Card performance against the Los Angeles Chargers - 58.6% completion, 268 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one interception, one fumble lost, and 66 rushing yards on 10 attempts - but everything after has been abysmal, even factoring in the defenses/weather/injuries/etc.), but he hit a new low last Wednesday against the Seattle Seahawks.
In the 13-10 loss, Maye threw for 178 yards, one touchdown, and three of the most boneheaded interceptions I have ever seen. Obviously, Seattle's defense is elite, A.J. Brown left the game early due to a high-ankle sprain, Romeo Doubs had one of the worst Patriots debuts maybe ever, and Maye is probably still seeing ghosts, but we should still expect at least a little bit better from someone who just finished second in MVP voting.
Regardless, New England is now 0-1 on the season and is set to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (who allowed just 143 passing yards and one passing touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons... even if it was Cooper Rush under center), the Jacksonville Jaguars (who just beat the Cleveland Browns 34-10), and the Buffalo Bills. The team has already dug itself into a hole, and it desperately needs its star quarterback to find his groove again to dig itself out of it.
Drake Maye needs to turn it up another level for the Patriots
Maye is probably the most important player on New England's roster. At the very least, most of the team's success rides on him.
The Patriots have a very talented team on both sides of the field (at least on paper), but none of that is going to matter if Maye isn't on his A-game for most of the season. Despite what a lot of people and critics in the media have to say about him, the UNC alum was one of the best players in all of football last season, and he played a huge role in the Patriots making their first Super Bowl appearance this decade.
Maye can help the Patriots win some games, but he's shown that he can lose some games for them, too. And at this point, they need as much help as they can get. This isn't the same Patriots team from the Cam Newton/Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe era. This is a Patriots team that actually has Super Bowl aspirations and wants to be looked at as a real threat in the league.
Their defense is going to be important. Their running game is going to be important. Their offensive line is going to be important. But none of that is going to matter if Maye doesn't bounce back from his Week 1 performance and remind the NFL world exactly what he can do.
Add us as a preferred source on Google