Patriots' Drake Maye shows additional leadership with comments about personal stats

While the New England Patriots opened the 2025 season with two losses across their first three games, second-year quarterback Drake Maye produced some impressive stats compared to his peers.

During his media availability on Wednesday, Maye made it clear he's worried about matters not related to his personal numbers. 

What really matters to Drake Maye in second New England Patriots season

"I think winning matters to me," Maye said, per Mark Daniels of MassLive. "That’s the main goal. It’s why you play, why I play this position, why I play this sport. I think the quarterback’s ultimate stat is wins. It’s the biggest thing I focus on. If that’s throwing 10 touchdowns in a game or throwing one pass, I’m just trying to win." 

Maye's comments may seem like throwaway lines offered by a starting signal-caller. However, it's worth noting that individuals within the Patriots, such as head coach Mike Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, repeatedly challenged Maye throughout the offseason to improve his leadership qualities. 

While a summer report questioned if Maye had "fully accepted that part of the job," Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez more recently mentioned that the 23-year-old quarterback has "really made that leadership change." 

As for Maye's numbers, Pro Football Reference shows that he began Thursday ranked second in the NFL among qualified players with a 72.6 percent completion percentage, fifth with 785 passing yards, tied for seventh with five touchdown passes and ninth with a 101.3 passer rating. 

That said, the Patriots committed five turnovers in their 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. Maye knows he and his teammates must avoid such costly miscues in this coming Sunday's home game versus the 1-2 Carolina Panthers. 

Drake Maye feels best is to come for New England Patriots offense

"I know what we can do," Maye added during his comments. "I still feel like we haven’t played our best football, and that’s what’s promising ahead. Once we do, we talk about stringing plays together in practice or stringing a drive together. You see glimpses of it… Hoping to get to that level when the games matter and trying to get a push toward the postseason."

As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the Patriots as 5.5-point favorites over the Panthers.