Drake Maye outplaying Caleb Williams was not on the Patriots' bingo card

One of the more discussed topics in the days leading to the Patriots' Week 10 matchup with the Bears surrounded rookie quarterbacks Drake Maye and Caleb Williams. It would be the first time the pair would meet in their respective NFL careers, sparking even more curiosity about how each would fare midway through the season.

Williams had been the presumptive first-overall pick since last October, so it was apparent that Chicago would be the team to get their new quarterback. The other top prospects, Maye and Jayden Daniels were considered the next best players at the position, interchanging as the weeks went on leading up to the draft.

Who was the better player was highly debated, with multiple arguments supporting either player on any given day. But based on how Daniels has played for the Commanders this season, starting in Week 1, many believed he was the clear frontrunner.

While that might still be true, seeing how Maye performed on Sunday compared to how Williams played, it didn't look like there was much of a difference between the two, like analysts wanted to sell us in the pre-draft process.

In fact, Maye outplayed Williams by a mile, and if you didn't know better, you might think the Patriots quarterback was the first overall pick earlier this year.

The Patriots look to have hit the ultimate quarterback jackpot in Drake Maye

Some analysts suggested Maye was the one rookie who needed to sit and learn behind a veteran, while Daniels and Williams were day-one starters. Given their current roster structures, the Patriots went with Jacoby Brissett as the Week 1 starter instead, eventually naming Maye the QB1 in Week 6.

The decision to do that will surely be debated until the end of time, especially since he has played at a high level every game since. But you could also say learning the game from the sideline for the first five games ultimately benefitted him in the long term, which seemed evident while watching Williams this week.

The Bears weren't an all-around better situation for a rookie quarterback to walk into, with several new members of the coaching staff and a weakened offensive line. However, Williams did inherit a loaded offense from the receiving corps and solid tight ends and running backs, which was and still is a more desirable roster to work with than Maye.

So, on the surface, he should have been the rookie playing the best this season.

He had a few weeks of that, but the struggles were more than apparent against the Patriots, and that made the Patriots look like the winners of the draft this year despite the countless analysts believing they might have made the wrong choice.

This could just be chalked up to a plateau of the season, as mounting issues are rumored to be plaguing the Bears stemming from a lack of trust with the head coach. If that's the case, there shouldn't be any concerns regarding Williams' development. But if it's deeper than that and he's already regressing, the Patriots are lucky to have the quarterback who is moving upward and not backward.

Maye has already shown the grit, leadership, and tenacity to be the guy for the long haul, and that is exactly what New England has been looking for over the past four years. The rookie has already proven he's the real deal in just 4.5 games, something we didn't see from Mac Jones in almost four years.

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