New England Patriots
The Patriots quarterback is growing into one of many NFL’s finest and the Gillette Stadium crowd let him hear it Monday night time.
FOXBOROUGH – The second that sparked MVP chants for Drake Maye throughout New England’s Monday night time mauling of the Giants was a beautifully-placed deep ball to Kyle Williams that went for a 33-yard touchdown.
Maye hit the speedy rookie in stride just a little bit to the left of the “P” within the Patriots’ finish zone and Williams tumbled in for the rating.
“It’s unbelievable. Typically you simply sit there and be like ‘it’s too good to be true’,” Williams mentioned after the sport. “He has nice arm expertise. He sees the sphere very properly.”
It wasn’t Maye’s longest throw of the night time. He had a pair of 36-yard completions afterward. The Patriots have been already up double-digits when Willams snagged the ball.
However the best way the group roared after the cross was accomplished was one thing else. The 23-year-old quarterback, decked out in a Pat Patriot crimson throwback jersey, supplied one other piece of proof for his second-year leap into the MVP dialog.
“I feel he’s realizing what he may be and what the influence that he makes on this offense and being the conductor,” coach Mike Vrabel mentioned. “He’s exhausting on himself. I feel that he challenges himself in addition to his coaches. He means a terrific deal to this soccer group.”
As of Monday night time, no one had more Pro Bowl votes (31,432) than Maye. He has the Patriots on an NFL-best 10-game successful streak and in place to compete for the No. 1 general seed within the AFC.
He was with out his beginning left deal with and guard however that didn’t cease him from torching the rudderless Giants (2-11) in primetime, going 24-for-31 with 282 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no turnovers.
The Patriots have been dominant of their first Monday Evening Soccer look since 2022, and Maye seemed regular on the helm.
“Simply attempting to be the face of the offense,” Maye mentioned. “Attempting to — you already know, need the stress. You need the ball in my fingers. I attempted to indicate that each one yr and all through my profession. That’s what I form of really feel like.”
“I do know they feed off of me and feed off of my vitality and feed off of what I say to these guys. And what I say means one thing to them. So when adversity hits, I’ve obtained to reply. And from there I’ve obtained to be the identical man, similar man every single day. Don’t attempt to change, and simply be myself. That’s what the fellows like essentially the most.”
The MVP hype round Maye has been constructing for weeks now, not simply within the media but in addition throughout the Patriots’ locker room.
Final month, rookie left deal with Will Campbell referred to as him the “best player in the NFL.” Receiver Kayshon Boutte, who hauled in a 3-yard landing on a fade route, mentioned the second-year quarterback is placing all of it collectively.
The vibes have fully flipped from final yr’s disastrous 4-13 end throughout which New England was initially not sure whether or not it might afford to play Maye behind the offensive line in place.
On Monday night time, the progress was on show for a nationwide viewers to see. The Patriots (11-2) have morphed right into a playoff-caliber group with a younger MVP candidate operating the offense.
“I all the time did say he was the MVP,” Boutte mentioned. “I feel I mentioned that possibly a month in the past, however I feel the whole lot is de facto coming full circle. We’re attempting to not get forward of ourselves week by week. We’ve nonetheless obtained an extended season to play.”
DraftKings gave Maye the second-best odds to win behind Los Angles’s Matthew Stafford heading into Monday’s recreation. Monday’s efficiency might assist bolster his case, however the Patriots have a pair of powerful assessments developing back-to-back after the bye-week.
A Gillette Stadium showdown with the Payments on Dec. 14 might wind up deciding the AFC East. A visit to Baltimore will observe, the place a problem towards Lamar Jackson and the Ravens awaits. Baltimore’s bodily protection shouldn’t be neglected both.
As New England continues to chase the AFC’s prime seed, they’ll have a few alternatives to show themselves additional. The affect that these video games have on Maye’s MVP case may very well be large relying on how they go.
“Clearly, I’m biased as a result of he’s my quarterback and I’d love for him to win MVP his second yr within the league,” receiver Stefon Diggs mentioned. “He’s a tremendous quarterback, however that ain’t as much as us. I feel what we’re chasing goes to be just a little bit extra essential, however when you proceed to play properly it’ll fall proper in your lap.”
4 video games to go. Two at dwelling. Maye is inside putting distance for the MVP and has his eyes fixated on extending New England’s win streak to 11 video games.
However, he nonetheless makes a degree to shake off a number of the reward and shine a light-weight on his teammates.
“Shoot, I want it was all me,” Maye mentioned of the streak. “There’s lots of people on this locker room, this group, that play an enormous position in us successful video games.”
“And shoot, similar to you, exhibiting up every single day and making enjoyable of you all for being within the locker room on a Friday asking us questions after observe, these guys are the identical factor. They present up every single day and so they need to get higher. And simply pleased with the fellows and this group we’ve got and love being round them.”
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