Mike Vrabel pulled Drake Maye aside on the sideline in Jacksonville. The Patriots coach put both hands on his struggling young quarterback’s shoulders and appeared to offer words of encouragement. But you’ve got to wonder what in the world Vrabel said.
What could he say?
Vrabel seems to think he knows what’s wrong with Maye. But he can’t possibly know how to fix it. No one can.
The coach-QB moment came in the fourth quarter of New England’s 35-6 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday. Maye was done for the day as backup Tommy DeVito took over in garbage time. It wasn’t a benching — just a case where the game got so far out of hand that it wasn’t worth risking Maye’s health, physical or mental.
For the defending AFC champions, the whole season seems to already be getting out of hand. So much so that it’s really not Maye’s offense right now. He doesn’t seem to have command of the unit in the same way as last year — or even in the same way as during training camp this year.
How have things gone so wrong for the Patriots? And for Maye, in particular?
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye stands on the sidelines in the third quarter of New England’s blowout loss to the Jaguars in Week 3. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
At age 23 last season, Maye was the legitimate runner-up in the MVP conversation. Every vote that went his way was justified. Maye was also the NFL runner-up, losing in the Super Bowl. You can debate all you want about whether his run was a product of a soft schedule. But he and the Patriots made it to Super Bowl Sunday. All the context in the world won’t wipe away his championship appearance.
But during these first few weeks of 2026, Maye has not resembled that version of himself. We always play the game of QB comparisons. And I have an unfortunate one for Maye this year: Zach Wilson. Here’s another one: the Jets’ version of Sam Darnold — back when he was seeing ghosts against the Patriots.
Every time Maye let go of the football on Sunday, I felt like I was watching a car screech toward the rear bumper of another.
If it all sounds hyperbolic, check out these stats. We can start simple: one touchdown, six interceptions, two fumbles. Woof.
And there are many more esoteric numbers that show the futility of New England’s offense.
The Patriots have scored 29 points on 30 drives this year, the fewest points per drive (.97) by any team through three games since the 2021 Jets — led by Wilson as a rookie. The Patriots have the lowest percentage of drives ending with a touchdown this season, per PFF. Yes, even lower than the Miami Dolphins.
Going back to the start of the postseason last year, Maye has nine fumbles and 10 interceptions. He’s the first player to do that in a seven-game span since Jameis Winston in 2019, when he threw 30 interceptions for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Last week, it seemed like Maye was underthrowing his downfield passes. This week, Maye overthrew a big play to DeMario Douglas, who could have — and probably should have — walked into the end zone.
The disappearance of Maye’s deep-ball efficiency has drastically changed his (and the offense’s) capacity to produce. It didn’t help that the Patriots traded receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans before the season. He was the team’s staggeringly reliable deep threat. I don’t think the Patriots would be better off with another season of Stefon Diggs, whose act gets old quickly.
The additions of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs were supposed to offset these departures. But Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener, and Doubs has not acclimated quickly into the system. Tight end Hunter Henry, formerly the QB’s security blanket, has just 10 targets for seven catches and 71 yards.
Maye is a quarterback whose bad decisions have led to more bad decisions. And it has come to the point where, when he makes good decisions, he doesn’t seem to have confidence in them. There’s caution — and maybe even apprehension — sneaking into his throwing motion.
“We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax,” Vrabel told WEEI sports radio in Boston.
I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: Relaxing is quite difficult when — seemingly — the entire world is telling you to relax. And Boston is not a quiet city of sports fans. It’s not a quiet sports media environment. The place has an attitude and, after years of success, the expectation is for more.
“When [WEEI host] Greg [Hill] and I go golfing, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it that we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” Vrabel said.
Will Maye’s entire season go sideways, and with it, the Patriots’ entire season?
Any golfer who has tried to fix his swing knows how hard it is to find the fairway.
The one thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that Maye might not be 100 percent. During the team’s playoff run last season, he needed pain-relieving injections in his throwing shoulder.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s a problem with my shoulder,” Maye said. “I think there’s times where I think you look back on the playoff run in that Denver game and when I took the hit and to now. I felt good during training camp and continue to let it loose.”
That answer is so vague and incomplete that it’s actually confusing. But it means something when a player doesn’t outright say: I’m healthy.
Then again, here’s how Vrabel responded to questions about Maye’s shoulder: “That’s not anything that I would even consider. I don’t anticipate that being any issue going forward.”
Maye hasn’t appeared on the injury report this season. So it would be curious — confusing even — if he was managing an undisclosed injury.
So let’s try to relax. Let’s hold the club a little looser, to steal from Vrabel’s analogy. Maye can fix this. The Patriots can get back on track. But the work won’t be easy, particularly not with the schedule they have on the horizon.
“Drake Maye looks very uncomfortable. He’s lost his confidence,” said Julian Edelman, former Patriots receiver and current FOX Sports analyst. “There’s always a little dry spell here and there in everyone’s game where they go through confidence issues. He’s in one of those right now. … He’s just pressing a little bit.”
There’s no mechanical issue. There’s no major footwork problem. Maye just needs to sort out the red lights (don’t throw) and green lights (throw) in his mind — and untangle the spots where the wires are crossed.
For that, there’s no easy solution. No quick fix. No shortcut.
“I can’t manufacture confidence. I can’t just say, ‘Hey, be confident,’” Vrabel told reporters on Monday. “You have to practice. You have to hit those plays in practice, and you have to feel good about it.”
The seemingly obvious solution to Maye’s issues is, of course, the return of Brown. Back in training camp, Maye used Brown as his get-out-of-jail-free card. Free blitzer coming? Hit Brown. Nobody open? Throw to Brown. Maye grew to rely on the star receiver in a short time. Brown’s return to the lineup — perhaps around Week 7 — should push Maye along on the path to recovery.
But that’s not a holistic fix. It’s more like a Band-Aid.
It’s clear that Maye overachieved in 2025. And it’s also clear that he’s currently underachieving. The Patriots’ season depends on their 24-year-old quarterback’s ability to level out rather than continue to spiral.
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