Patriots' Mike Vrabel sends Drake Maye warning to NFL after win over Giants

Second-year New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye produced yet another stellar performance en route to guiding his club to an impressive 33-15 victory over the lowly New York Giants (2-11) that improved the Patriots to 11-2 on Monday night. 

Following that win, first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel sent somewhat of a warning to the rest of the NFL regarding what Maye is becoming for the first-place team. 

Mike Vrabel sees Drake Maye as "conductor" for Patriots

"I thought Drake is -- I think he's realizing what he can be and the impact that he makes on this offense and being the conductor," Vrabel explained, per the Patriots' website. "He's hard on himself. I think that he challenges himself as well as his coaches. He means a great deal to this football team. ...So, again, very appreciative that he's our quarterback."

Against the Giants, Maye completed 24-of-31 pass attempts for 282 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. According to Pro Football Reference, he ended the evening leading the NFL among qualified players with a 71.5 percent completion percentage, a 111.9 passer rating and 3,412 passing yards on the season. He's fourth with a 72.8 adjusted QBR and fourth with 23 passing touchdowns. 

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Maye as the betting favorite at -135 odds to win the Most Valuable Player Award for the regular season. 

"I think he's able to keep his composure, keep his eyes downfield," Vrabel added about Maye's outing against the Giants. 

Drake Maye wants to be the face of Patriots

Following Vrabel's news conference, Maye touched upon what it means to be seen as "the conductor of the offense" for the team with the NFL's best overall record in early December. 

"Just trying to be the face of the offense," Maye said. "Trying to -- you know, want the pressure. You want the ball in my hands. I tried to show that all year and throughout my career. That's what I kind of feel like. I know they feed off of me and feed off of my energy and feed off of what I say to those guys. And what I say means something to them. So when adversity hits, I've got to respond. And from there, I've got to be the same guy, same guy every day. Don't try to change, and just be myself. That's what the guys like the most."

Maye and Co. will now get some rest during the bye before the Patriots host the division-rival Buffalo Bills in Week 15 of the season. The 8-4 Bills will welcome the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) to Highmark Stadium this coming Sunday.