Patriots' title window can reopen with Drake Maye at QB

When Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, there should have been an expectation that some down years were going to follow. It is hard to replace a franchise quarterback, and nearly impossible to replace one of the legends of the game. For five years, they struggled with Cam Newton and Mac Jones being unable to fill the void left by Brady's absence.

They might finally have a quarterback in Drake Maye who can start filling it. 

Certainly not to Brady's level (that is an unreachable bar), but likely to a level that is going to give them a chance to compete in the very near future. Perhaps even as soon as this season. 

Drake Maye's emergence is reopening the Patriots' window for contention

Maye's rookie season had some obvious ups and downs, which is to be expected from a rookie quarterback being thrown into a bad situation. But it was easy to see the talent was there, and the upside should give Patriots fans serious hope.

He has come back even better in year two and is already starting to play like the franchise quarterback the Patriots need.

He was sensational again on Sunday in a 25-19 win over the New Orleans Saints, completing 18-of-26 passes for 261 yards (10 yards per completion) and three touchdowns. He is now up to 1,522 yards passing for the season with a 73.2% completion percentage, 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He has also had a passer rating over 100 in five consecutive games, and is up to 112.5 for the season. Just for context that a 112.5 passer rating would have been the fourth-highest in the entire NFL during the 2024 season.

That is not only elite play, it is MVP-level play. 

The numbers only tell a fraction of the story. Maybe is also showing off freakish athleticism and making the types of throws that only a small number of quarterbacks in the NFL can make.

He made some stunning plays in last week's upset win over the Buffalo Bills, and was making even more of them on Sunday against the Saints.