The New England Patriots are ... back? After three miserable weeks, a bunch of Drake Maye turnovers and some deep soul-searching on the Northeastern seaboard, the Patriots came roaring back with a 29-26 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon. It's a critical division win in New England's back pocket. It also moves the Patriots to 2-2 with a very winnable stretch of their schedule coming up.
Week | Matchup | Date |
|---|---|---|
Week 5 | Las Vegas Raiders | Oct. 11 |
Week 6 | New York Jets | Oct. 18 |
Week 7 | at Chicago Bears | Oct. 22 |
Week 8 | at Miami Dolphins | Nov. 1 |
Week 9 | Green Bay Packers | Nov. 8 |
Drake Maye, ever the paraiah after his struggles through Week 3, looked much more comfortable at the commands in Week 4. He completed 22-of-37 passes for 269 yards, with three touchdowns (quadrupling his season total) and one interception. He also led New England with 54 rushing yards on eight attempts. It seems the 24-year-old, less than a year removed from finishing runner-up in the NFL MVP race, might be a competent starting quarterback after all.
Patriots finally found their stride against Bills — and exposed their biggest rival
The Patriots (and specifically Maye) were brutal through the first three weeks of the season. We needn't deny or ignore that on account of Sunday's victory. That said, the mass panic around New England always felt a smidge premature. Fandom is an inherently emotional experience, so it's hard to blame Patriots fans for freaking out. It's equally hard to blame opposing fans for jumping at the chance to bury the reigning AFC champs.
That said, after a noisy offseason and an unfortunate A.J. Brown injury in Week 1, the Patriots probably deserved some grace while navigating a tough early shcedule. After all, New England was able to coast against a much easier schedule in 2025, so it's hardly a surprise that early showdowns against Seattle and Jacksonville — two elite defensive units — came as a shock to the system.
Mike Vrabel was easy to blame as the primary source of offseason distraction, but it was Maye who really came under the microscope with six interceptions (and only one touchdown) across New England's first three games. He played much like a deer in headlights, unable to handle pressure or create off-script like he did so often and so successfully last season.
Well, Maye put the online hate campaign to bed in Week 4, or at least on pause. He was not perfect, but he objectively outperformed Josh Allen (the early MVP frontrunner) head-to-head. His performance on Sunday featured an incredible game-winning touchdown pass in the game's final minute, which could end up as a defining moment of the season if New England sustains its turnaround.
EFTON CHISM YOU MANIAC pic.twitter.com/scQDEDd0Cd
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) October 4, 2026
Maye could not establish a rhythm through New England's early games, with plenty of blame assigned to coaches, the front office or even to last season's shoulder injury, which memorably flared up in the postseason. After Maye's Super Bowl stinker (and subsequent egg-laying in their Week 1 rematch with Seattle) folks were quick to ascribe words like "broken" to the situation at hand. But while Maye was, perhaps, a bit rattled, it should come as no surprise that a quarterback with his talent and track record quickly righted the ship.
Is Drake Maye all the way back?
Of course, only time will tell whether this is a momentary turnaround or a more permanent resurrection, but it's hard not to feel like it's the latter. Confidence goes a long way in football. Maye clearly did not have it earlier in the campaign, but he found it in Week 4. Credit to him, credit to the coaching staff, hell, credit to the Bills defense. Something very clearly clicked on Sunday.
Buffalo's defense plays an interesting part in all of this. The Bills averaged 33.6 points per game during their 3-0 start while allowing 26 points per game. Buffalo can win a shootout, this we know. At a certain point, however, a leaky defense catches up to every team. It's unclear if the Bills have the stopping power to actually contend right now. From Maye's standpoint, there will be pressure to continue this caliber of performance against better defensive teams. Plenty of medicore quarterbacks can go off against a bottom-five defense. It's those who sustain elite play, even against staunch opponents, who achieve greatness.
The upcoming Patriots schedule does not feature a ton of great defenses, but one week does not make a season. After last year's collapse in the playoffs, shoulder injury or no, there will be skeptics who remain.
That said, this all feels like a classic example of why not to overreact to a small sample size. Maye was downright elite last season, combining superb efficiency with the ability to extend plays under pressure and create with his legs. Maye has the athleticism, the arm talent and the processing skills to reach last season's heights again. He's 24, smack in the middle of his athletic prime. Most quarterback are still ascending in their third NFL season.
So let's put a fork in the Drake Maye discourse for now and concede that our overreactions through Week 3 were just so. Overreactions. If Maye falls off again, we can revisit the debate, but for now he has earned the benefit of the doubt after opening his career with two sensational campaigns.
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