Throughout the 2025 season, Drake Maye has been among the most impressive quarterbacks in the NFL, making him a frontrunner for the MVP award alongside veteran Matthew Stafford. That has helped lead the Patriots to the AFC Championship game this week, but he hasn't exactly been the superstar performer that we've all come to know and love.
Instead, he's been a turnover machine, specifically with fumbles, and it has dominated the conversation over the last two weeks, prompting concerns about how he and the offense will fare against a very good Broncos' defense.
The young quarterback is fortunately self-aware and never shies away from humility in speaking on his mistakes, so he understands just how important it is that he better protect the football moving forward, as it will be the only way the Patriots have a real chance to get to the Super Bowl.
“I’ve got to do a better job stepping up and hit guys downfield when we had chances. I have to be better with the football when I’m taking off and running. From there, just know the football is the prized possession. When we don’t turn the ball over, and put the team in the best spots, I like our chances.”
He will need to follow through with that, too, because Broncos fans are already banking on his mistakes helping their team win the game.
Broncos fans believe they know the recipe for success against Drake Maye and the Patriots
The Patriots are set to face a gauntlet of defenses that no team has ever beaten to get into the Super Bowl, and that journey will continue against a top-10 group in the Broncos.
Their fans, like Predominantly Orange's Lou Scataglia, are banking on Denver's dominance to disrupt Maye enough to create even more turnovers, as he already has fumbled six times, and believe that will be the way for the Broncos to make it to the Super Bowl.
"Maye has definitely held his own, but you can kind of see where the Broncos can get after him. Maye's already fumbled the ball six times, losing three of them. Ten sacks in two games is simply not sustainable, and he's thrown two interceptions to top it all off.
This, right here, is how the Denver Broncos win. The team will simply need some combination of sacks, fumbles, and interceptions to win this one. We saw what happened in the Divisional Round when you force turnovers, as the Buffalo Bills offense was otherwise very efficient outside of those costly TOs."
Unfortunately, the defense he will be facing won't be the only challenge Maye will have to overcome, as the elements, most notably the elevation, will ultimately become another factor in the game.
Because he's never played in Denver before, it's inevitable that he could struggle, along with the rest of the offense. The hope is that they have accomplished enough when they were counted out this year that they will be prepared in that regard, on top of what they do this week, to better prepare for the biggest challenge ahead, which will lead them to success.
Even if it all plays a role in the game's result, Maye cannot allow his eagerness to keep a play going or avoid a sack allow him to continue fumbling the football, or else there will be no Super Bowl to look forward to.
It won't be easy to ensure that, since the Broncos' defense is one of the best in the league, but Maye can correct his previous mistakes and prevent the opponent from having any extra opportunities to steal the win.