How did Drake Maye perform against Miami? Patriots QB throws just 4 incompletions

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Drake Maye didn’t look like a quarterback with too much on his plate on this day.

A week after floundering in the Patriots’ season-opening loss to Las Vegas, Maye turned the page and opened eyes. A week after throwing an interception, nearly losing a fumble, and missing several open receivers, this young quarterback showed he also had a short memory.

Maye finished 19-of-23 for 230 yards to go with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in the Patriots’ 33-27 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The quarterback had teammates raving about him after throwing just four incomplete passes.

“You’ve got a guy, and he’s looking and calling the plays. You’re looking at him in his eyes and he’s speaking with confidence and enthusiasm,” Morgan Moses said. “You know plays are going to work. That’s who he is. He’s a leader. He’s our quarterback, man. He played a hell of a game.”

“Oh man, Drake’s a hell of a player. A dog. I love playing for him,” Christian Barmore added. “He puts fire into us. Especially how he makes big plays, how he runs, excitement… I love playing for a guy like that.”

In the Patriots’ 20-13 loss to Las Vegas, Maye completed 30-of-46 passes for a career-high 287 yards to go with a touchdown and an interception. The second-year player didn’t always look comfortable in the pocket and missed multiple open receivers.

That led to talk of there being too much on Maye’s plate with Josh McDaniels. The offensive coordinator disagreed with that assessment this week, and it was easy to see why against Miami.

Maye completed four passes in a row in his opening drive. That included a 22-yard pass to Austin Hooper and an 8-yard touchdown to Mack Hollins. In the second drive, he hit Kayshon Boutte for a 16-yard touchdown.

Stefon Diggs said people saw Maye develop on Sunday.

“Growing up. It’s early. Game 2,” Diggs said. “Obviously, we try to go 1-0 each and every week. I feel like he made a jump from last week, just settling in. It’s hard being a young quarterback, but I feel like he’s doing the best job he can. Four incompletions – you ask him if he’s happy about it.”

Maye later put the offense on his back when he threw a beautiful deep pass to Rhamondre Stevenson that went for 55 yards. Two plays later, Maye ran in for a 6-yard touchdown.

“It was sick. Oh my gosh – some of those throws down the sideline,” center Garrett Bradbury said. “We’ve got a pretty good viewpoint where we’re just sitting there, and all of a sudden we see the ball and we’re like, ‘That was a perfect throw.’ To Rhamondre down the sideline. I think that was a third-and-long. It’s awesome. You love playing with guys at that position that can dice it up. It was a great day for him.”