Image courtesy of the New England Patriots
FOXBOROUGH – Well, what a difference seven days makes.
A week ago on Wednesday, all the talk and questions surrounding the Patriots and Drake Maye was whether or not he could handle being ‘the guy’ in New England. Was there too much on his plate? Was he mentally broken?
Turns out, all it took was a trip to Buffalo to get things right.
Now, Maye still fumbled last Sunday and admittedly has a lot more improvement to make, but he was also named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday morning. Maye finished the win in Buffalo 22/37 for 269 yards with three touchdowns and 54-yards on the ground as well.
“It’s great. It’s great to see him be recognized for his performance and helping us win,” Mike Vrabel said when asked about it on Wednesday morning. “I want us to win those awards every single week, whether that’s Drake or anybody on offense or the performances that we could have on defense or special teams.”
Following practice on Wednesday afternoon, Maye also talked about trying to keep things rolling heading into Sunday’s game against Las Vegas.
“You have to,” he said. “I’m trying to keep the same mindset when things don’t go well. “Of next week and trying to bounce back from it, and also this week…riding the roller coaster. You’ve got to try to…every week is a new week in this league. Every team’s different and got different challenges.
“Know that it’s any given week. Like I’ve said time and time again, in this league, you’ve got to play good football to end up on the right side of things.”
When asked if anything particular changed last week in terms of preparation or schematically, Maye said the success in Buffalo was just a matter of confidence for everyone involved.
“I think I try to stay the same and try to treat every week the same,” he added. “I was I could point to something different, but no, I think it’s just a habit of getting confidence in the guys around us, around me. I think the guys up front did a heck of a job. Just trying to give our guys a chance in the passing game.
“I think we hit a little more. We hit a few of the ones I felt like were there to be made. I think we missed those kind of the first few weeks, some opportunities for big plays. I think we hit that. But, really just trying to get back after it in practice and try to study the plan the best I can.
“Realize that…treat every week like, you’ve gotta play well and play well at my position to end up on the right side of things.”
Whatever he, Josh McDaniels and the rest of the offense did, it worked.
Now, with two straight home games before a Thursday night tilt in Chicago, it’s a phenomenal opportunity for the now two-time AFC Offensive Player of the Week to get on a little hot streak here.