New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL through three games of the 2026 season.
Not graded on a curve, not relative to last year, and not relative to what we've come to expect from Maye. He's simply been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL this season, passing Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush for the most interceptions so far this season (6) in Week 3.
Maye is currently on pace for 6 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions after the first three games of the year. He's played horribly since the start of the 2025-26 playoffs.
And yet, the Patriots' Week 4 matchup against the Buffalo Bills puts him at his most crucial juncture yet as an NFL player.
Drake Maye could erase his brutal start to 2026 with one big game vs. the Bills
Maye and the Patriots represented the AFC in the Super Bowl last season. Even though it felt like they were borderline gifted their trip to the Super Bowl, Maye finished 2nd in MVP voting last season, and it was relatively expected to see him struggling in the playoffs against much better defenses as well as playing in weather-impacted games.
His postseason for the Patriots was atrocious, especially in the Super Bowl, but it's important to remember that his poor showing in the playoffs was not limited to the Super Bowl loss against the Seahawks.
Maye seemingly had his confidence stripped from him during the playoffs last season, completing just 58.6 percent of his passes with 6 TDs, 4 INTs, and a whopping 7 fumbles. He was sacked a total of 21 times during the Patriots' postseason run.
Including his playoff run last season, the last 7 games for Maye have been horrific:
- 60.5 percent completion rate
- 7 TD passes (1 so far in 2026)
- 10 interceptions
- 9 fumbles
- 30 sacks
Despite the horrendous numbers over his last 7 games, Maye has a chance in Week 4 to absolutely wash the bad taste away completely.
The Patriots are 1-2 and facing a 3-0 Buffalo Bills team on the road. There is a lot at stake for the Patriots in Week 4, even it feels like the team has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The Bills are protecting their division lead, hoping to prevent the Patriots from crawling back in. They've undoubtedly seen how poorly Maye has played, and would love nothing more than to kick him and the Patriots while they're down.
But all it takes is one drive to get Maye locked back in. And if that can happen, we've seen the type of damage he can do. Yes, it was against a relatively "easy" schedule in 2026, but we also saw Maye play well against Buffalo on the road early last season.
The Bills looked unbeatable in the first two games this season, but they looked human in Week 3.
It feels extremely far-fetched given what we've seen so far this year, but imagine a world where things start to click for Maye in a Week 4 matchup against the Bills.
It's either that, or we're discussing the very real possibility that the Patriots got hoodwinked over the last two years.
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