Drake Maye has completely unraveled, sinking from one of the league’s top five quarterbacks to one of its absolute worst in just seven games. Seriously, this dude has gone from a rising star to a statistical anomaly, and it’s happening right before our eyes.
What we are seeing is a total box-score reversal, it’s wild. Maye is currently on pace for 3,315 passing yards, a paltry six touchdowns, and a staggering 34 interceptions this season. Compare that to last year, when he dropped 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and only eight interceptions. It’s like he’s a different person out there. His EPA per dropback this year is -0.21, ranking 29th, after leading the NFL with 0.28 last season. This isn’t just a regression, folks. This is the biggest slide for a quarterback in the entire history of Next Gen Stats. We’re talking about an all-time plummet here.
So, what in the world happened? Patriots coach Mike Vrabel basically summed it up on WEEI, saying, “We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax.” Sounds simple, right? But you can’t just tell someone to relax and expect it to magically work. If anything, that usually just ramps up the stress! Watching all six of Maye’s interceptions, you can see his throwing motion and footwork are totally fine. Any talk about a lingering shoulder injury from last year is pure speculation. What we’re actually seeing is a pattern of awful, overly aggressive decision-making, and New England has got to reverse it ASAP.
And speaking of QBs in a rough spot, Bo Nix just had a stinker of a game against the Rams for the Broncos. It took all of Sean Payton’s offensive superpowers for Denver to even win that one. Nix was throwing the ball into harm’s way constantly, and it’s a miracle he only finished with one interception. Honestly, I counted three additional turnover-worthy passes that didn’t end up being picked off. Sometimes you just get lucky, huh?
The Patriots are heading to Buffalo this week, and then they host the unbeaten Raiders in Week 5. If they want any shot at the playoffs, Maye needs to make some big changes, and he needs to make them quickly. This season could get really interesting, really fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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