A season that shockingly ended with a Super Bowl appearance put the Patriots on the front lines going into the 2026 season. They were back on the map in the AFC East and once again considered a legitimate threat in the conference, even if many wanted to credit their "easy schedule" for last season's success.
It put Drake Maye under a microscope going into Year 3, especially since he fell just one vote shy of winning the MVP Award last season. So when he appeared to struggle in the first three games, many began to wonder whether the schedule made the quarterback look elite.
He had a lot of negativity to shut down with a bounce-back performance against the Bills this past Sunday, and while basically everyone overlooked the Patriots' chances, given that they were about to face what appeared to be a very good team in Buffalo, Maye reverted to his 2025 form and stole another win at Highmark Stadium.
This time it also meant handing the Bills their first loss in their new stadium.
It was the kind of performance they were hoping would be pushed back at least one week, with even defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard saying as much before the game. Maybe he shouldn't have been so specific, because if you're superstitious, it's easy to believe the coach jinxed his team.
The Bills' worst nightmare about Drake Maye happened in Week 4
After losing the division to the Patriots last year, which they owned for five straight seasons since Tom Brady left for the Bucs, the Bills hoped to continue their win streak on Sunday and send a message that they were still the team to beat in the AFC East, particularly at home.
Last season, the teams split the season, winning in each other's stadiums rather than at home, and it looks like that could happen again this year with the Patriots getting the first W between them.
Leonhard voiced his and, likely, the entire team's hopes that Maye wouldn't make that happen and that his struggles would continue in Buffalo, especially his turnovers. Instead, the third-year quarterback had his best game of the season so far, along with the rise of receivers Efton Chism and Romeo Doubs, who came in clutch with three touchdowns.
Considering up to that point, they hadn't scored more than 10 points in a game, surely, the Bills were not expecting they would get into the end zone as much as they did, never mind that the struggling Doubs and the "no-name practice squad" Chism would make the catch of the week for a touchdown.
That's even more reason coaches should maybe take a page from Bill Belichick's book and not be so specific in their answers before a game, because the universe is listening, and now Leonhard might regret what he said about Maye.
It could very easily have motivated the quarterback even more, even if he was also complimentary in what he had to say. So he likely won't have much to offer when the teams play again in Week 13.
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