Drake Maye Is Struggling — But the Problem Is Bigger Than the Quarterback

There is no getting around it: Drake Maye has not looked like the same quarterback we saw last season.

After four games in 2025, Maye looked like one of the fastest-rising quarterbacks in football. He completed 74% of his passes, threw for 988 yards and eight touchdowns, and had just two interceptions. He was playing with confidence, creating explosive plays and consistently putting the Patriots in position to score.

Now, entering Week 4 of the 2026 season, the numbers look completely different.

Maye has completed 63.8% of his passes for 585 yards, with one touchdown and six interceptions. His passer rating is 58.6. He has also been sacked nine times.

The obvious question is: what happened?

The answer may be a combination of things.

The A.J. Brown injury changed the offense

The Patriots made one of the biggest offensive additions of the offseason by bringing in A.J. Brown. Brown immediately became an important part of the offense, but he suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 and is currently on injured reserve, making him eligible to return in Week 6.

That matters for Maye.

Brown isn't simply another receiver who can catch passes. His presence changes how defenses have to line up against New England. Without him, defenses can devote more attention to stopping the Patriots' explosive passing game.

And that leads to another major development.

Defenses have more film on Drake Maye

Last season, Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels were able to generate a tremendous number of explosive plays.

Defenses now have an entire season, plus the playoffs, to study what worked.

The Patriots themselves acknowledge that opponents have increasingly used two-high and split-safety looks against Maye to take away the deep ball. Over a recent five-game sample, opposing safeties were lining up an average of 12.8 yards from the line of scrimmage against New England.

The idea is relatively simple: don't let Drake Maye beat you over the top.

Make him throw underneath.

Make him be patient.

Make the Patriots run the football.

And, most importantly, make Maye consistently take what the defense gives him.

That has been a problem.

After the Week 1 loss to Seattle, Maye admitted that he had "lost patience" during the game.

That may be the biggest issue facing him right now.

Maye appears to be pressing

Watching Maye early this season, it feels like he is trying to make the big play instead of allowing the game to come to him.

Some of that is understandable.

Your best receiver is hurt. Your running game isn't consistently moving the football. Defenses are sitting back and taking away your favorite explosive concepts.

At some point, the quarterback starts thinking:

"I have to make something happen."

That's when mistakes begin to compound.

Maye has already committed seven turnovers through three games, including six interceptions and a lost fumble. Against Jacksonville, he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in a 35-6 loss.

That isn't all on Maye.

But some of it absolutely is.

The Patriots' own film breakdown identified five turnover-worthy plays against Jacksonville, including a red-zone interception with New England at the Jaguars' 2-yard line.

A young quarterback cannot consistently give defenses extra possessions and expect the rest of the offense to overcome it.

The running game isn't helping him

This might be the most overlooked part of the entire situation.

The Patriots aren't running the football effectively enough to force defenses to respect the ground game.

Through three games, New England ranked last in the NFL in rushing success rate at 28.4%, according to the Patriots' own analysis.

That creates a terrible situation for a quarterback.

If defenses know you can't consistently run the ball, they don't have to bring extra defenders into the box.

If they don't have to bring extra defenders into the box, they can keep two safeties deep.

If they keep two safeties deep, the explosive passing game becomes much harder.

And if A.J. Brown isn't on the field, there is even less reason for defenses to be afraid of the deep ball.

It's a cycle.

The Patriots themselves pointed out that their rushing efficiency has been a longstanding problem, ranking near the bottom of the NFL in rush EPA over the past several seasons.

Then there is the question of Maye's health

This is where we have to be careful.

There has been discussion about whether Maye could still be dealing with an issue involving his throwing shoulder dating back to last year's playoff run. The Patriots' own film analyst specifically mentioned the possibility of lingering shoulder issues, but there is no confirmed diagnosis establishing that his current struggles are being caused by an injury.

So it's fair to ask the question.

It isn't fair to declare that his shoulder is the reason he's struggling.

The most reasonable conclusion right now is simply unknown.

If Maye is dealing with something physically, it could explain some of the inconsistency. But until the Patriots or Maye provide more information, that remains speculation.

The leadership question

There is another part of Maye's game that is harder to measure: his leadership.

Maye is still a young quarterback. He's only entering his third NFL season, and quarterbacks don't suddenly become veteran leaders overnight.

But this season, there have been moments where it appears that Maye is playing like someone trying to solve the problem himself rather than a quarterback calmly leading everyone else through it.

That's an important distinction.

Leadership isn't necessarily about yelling at teammates or giving speeches.

Sometimes leadership is simply showing the team:

"We're going to take what they give us. We're going to stay patient. We're going to execute."

Right now, Maye's body language and aggressive decision-making can sometimes give the impression that he's pressing.

And when your quarterback presses, the entire offense feels it.

The schedule isn't getting easier immediately

The Patriots also haven't exactly been handed a soft opening.

Seattle, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville have presented different defensive challenges, and New England's early offensive problems have been magnified against defenses capable of putting pressure on Maye.

The upcoming schedule also includes more difficult opponents, including Buffalo.

That means the Patriots don't have the luxury of waiting for Maye to simply "figure it out."

They have to fix the offensive structure around him, too.

The comparison to last year is what makes this concerning

The reason people are worried isn't because Maye has suddenly become a bad quarterback.

It's because we've already seen what he can be.

Through four games in 2025:

• 74.0% completion

• 988 passing yards

• 8 TD

• 2 INT

• +0.29 EPA/play

• 52.1% drop-back success rate

Through three games in 2026:

• 63.8% completion

• 585 passing yards

• 1 TD

• 6 INT

• 58.6 passer rating

• 7 turnovers

The difference is enormous.

But that's exactly why I wouldn't write Maye off.

He's talented.

He's young.

And he's already demonstrated that he can play at a very high level.

The bigger question is whether this is simply a young quarterback going through the first major adjustment of his career — or whether defenses have genuinely discovered a formula that is forcing him to evolve.

Right now, the Patriots need Maye to stop trying to prove that he can make every play.

They need him to become comfortable with the boring plays.

Take the checkdown.

Take the five-yard completion.

Hand the ball off.

Run when the defense gives him an opening.

Protect the football.

Let A.J. Brown eventually return.

And trust that the explosive plays will come.

Because right now, Drake Maye doesn't need to prove that he's the quarterback of the future.

He needs to start playing like one again.