The New England Patriots are no strangers to doubters and detractors who want to dim their success, and although their glory days are long behind them, their rise in 2025 is reigniting frustration across the league and on television. Unfortunately, that includes some who might have otherwise been considered allies, like Cam Newton, who has become a co-host of ESPN's "First Take" this year.
The former quarterback has had a lot to say about the Patriots and Drake Maye over the last few weeks, most of which has been downplaying their success and suggesting they've only played "sorry scrubs" to lead them to a 9-2 record.
He has gone on multiple rants about how his former team is not a legitimate contender and considers them "fool's gold" who will be exposed in the playoffs, which is far from the collective support the Patriots have shockingly received this season.
Mike Vrabel has already responded to Newton's critiques by essentially brushing them off his shoulder and potentially using them as bulletin board material as the season progresses, and it looks like Maye isn't paying them much mind, either.
Drake Maye finally responds to Cam Newton's comments on the Patriots' 2025 success
While making his weekly appearance on "WEEI Afternoons," Maye was (of course) asked about Newton's comments, which were particularly interesting given Maye grew up a massive fan of the former Panthers quarterback.
Instead of responding directly to what Newton said, Maye also brushed it off and credited the quarterback for having his own opinion, but made sure he let everyone know whose opinions mattered most.
"Oh no, I don’t even know what show he’s on. I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments. So, I just worry about what people in our organization think, and worry about we think and what my teammates think. People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves."
That's exactly the kind of attitude that Patriots fans are going to love to continue hearing from their newest franchise quarterback, especially since it's awfully similar to that of Tom Brady.
And that's the kind of criticism Maye is already receiving, despite playing impressively well and breaking league records on a weekly basis. But much of that can be attributed to the disdain outsiders in New England have for the Patriots after 20 years of domination.
The fact that it looks like it could be on the horizon once again has already gotten the worst takes to come out of people's mouths, whether it's due to not wanting the Patriots to be the league's big brother again or because they genuinely don't believe Maye and the team are legitimately good. It's hard to say.
What we do know, however, is that they're on an eight-game win streak and hope to extend that this weekend against the Bengals, who are expected to be without QB Joe Burrow, WR Ja'Marr Chase, and DE Trey Hendrickson, just to make the doubters even more angry.