Drake Maye makes a significant statement in Patriots' Week 9 loss to the Titans

The Patriots lost in overtime Week 9 to a poor team with a good defense, the Tennessee Titans. It was another lost opportunity. Yet, the topic here is Drake Maye, who had a statement game. He unquestionably announced his arrival as the present and future quarterback of the New England
Patriots.

Here, we'll rate Maye's effort against the Titans in a losing cause that ended with an interception on a long pass in overtime. If there were any downsides to the rookie's performance, they were his two interceptions and a strip-sack, primarily due to his left tackle. What's new?

Yet, the focus here will be the superlatives of Maye's effort, especially coming off concussion protocol. In short, there were myriad positives to unpack from Maye's effort. He was terrific. Let's delve into the performance and unleash a positive picture (for a change).

Drake Maye leads a deficient offense into competitiveness once again

As mentioned, the Titans are a lousy football team with a 2-6 record. Regardless, they have a top defense Drake Maye had to contend with. And he did brilliantly, even though he has limited offensive weapons to deploy, probably the worst in the NFL.

Maye's stats were excellent. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown (more about that later), and two INTs. That's a 70 percent completion rate. Some were in a desperate situation, as most were under duress.

Maye's best receiver was Hunter Henry, who had five catches for 56 yards. Pop Douglas topped the team with seven catches for only 35 yards. Not enough. Kendrick Bourne, a trade candidate, caught five for 41 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson was third in yardage with five catches for 38 yards and a big score.

Yet, the story was Maye. He was sensational. He made throws from many different angles, mostly under pressure due to his terrible offensive line. The Patriots have dumped a slew of high and higher picks on offensive linemen in the past three drafts. The chickens have come home to roost. None of them can play.

Regardless, Maye still finds a way to make things happen. In addition to his superb passing, he led the team in rushing with 95 yards on eight carries. He showed why his pocket-escapability and running ability are the perfect antidote to a miserable O-line and receiving corps. His extraordinary running kept the Pats in the game.

Drake Maye made a historically good play to keep the Patriots in the game

Maye's grade will follow. But the exclamation point of his game against the Titans and the season thus far was a virtuoso performance with four seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it into overtime.

With the game on the line, Maye executed a rambling, scrambling desperation effort that seemed to take a minute. Somehow, he managed to find Stevenson in the end zone as time expired. It was a play for the ages.

This was a classic, only seen occasionally from any NFL team. It's special to see one from the hands of a rookie quarterback. After starting just three games, he's already proven to the numerous naysayers that he's the real deal, and sitting him in favor of Jacoby Brissett at all was a huge gaffe.

Drake Maye is not only the future of the New England Patriots, he's its present. Only a boneheaded decision to keep him from getting most of the first-team reps in the camps and pre-season kept the Patriots from likely being at least 4-5, if not 5-4 or 6-3.

Even with his lackluster cast on offense, Maye could have led this flawed Patriots team into contention for a playoff spot. By now, rookie mistakes would be diminished, and his performances would even exceed the excellence he's now displayed.

So here's the grade for Drake Maye against the Titans. It's an A+++. His performance was superb and there's one fact that's even better. Maye's trajectory is up, up, and away. He's just getting started and getting better by the game.

There's no telling the heights he can and will achieve barring injury with the addition of an offensive cast worthy of his talents. It's a shame that the team's amateurish hierarchy botched the offseason badly and compounded the blunders by choosing to sit him and let the season slip away.

This team could have and should have been competitive in the AFC East. The major hires that owner Robert Kraft made have flopped. The ultimate responsibility rests with him. Yet, one thing they did right was to draft Drake Maye. There's no doubt about that.

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