The New England Patriots left Miami with an unusual win at Hard Rock Stadium in
a hard-fought slugfest with the Dolphins. It gave Head Coach Mike Vrabel his first win with the team and showcased the talents of the team's second-year quarterback, Drake Maye.
After a less-than-optimal Week 1 loss to the Raiders at Gillette Stadium, the team went into Miami seeking a seldom-seen win. Miami has never been an easy place for the Patriots to play, but Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had never been beaten at all by a Patriots team in his previous five years in the NFL.
That streak ended as the 2025 Patriots showed solid signs of coalescing into a possible contender. Big plays were made by Antonio Gibson, Marte Mapu, Harold Landry III, and top free agent signee Milton Williams, among others. Yet, the star of the show was undoubtedly Maye.
Drake Maye had a career day against the Dolphins
Quarterback Drake Maye had had a decent game in the Week 1 loss to the Raiders. Yet, he and Patriots Nation knew he had to do a lot better if the team was to avoid another loss to the Dolphins in Miami and an 0-2 record beginning to the Vrabel-era in Foxborough. Thankfully, Maye rose to the occasion with the finest game of his career.
The Patriots' second-year quarterback recorded the second-highest Week 2 quarterback rating in the league at 137.3, further adding to the impressive start of his 2025 season.
Best passer rating in week 2:
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) September 16, 2025
Jared Goff - 156.0
Drake Maye - 137.3
Lamar Jackson - 128.6
Russell Wilson - 123.0
Justin Herbert - 122.8
Spencer Rattler - 118.1
Tua Tagovailoa - 115.5
Jordan Love - 113.9
Mac Jones - 113.1
Bo Nix - 111.3
Maye's breakout career game only followed Lions' veteran quarterback, Jared Goff, who had a monster game with a rating of 156. Goff racked up 559 yards passing, with six touchdowns and one interception, and a completion percentage of 80.6 percent.
Having drafted Maye with the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, expectations will always be high for the young quarterback who only recently turned 23. Maye did little to disappoint against the Patriots' nemesis, the Dolphins, and their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. He delivered a masterpiece.
The Patriots needed a top performance and got it from Drake Maye
The fortunes of any NFL team will ride to a great extent on the shoulders of its quarterback. Drake Maye picked a good time to have the best game of his young career in Miami to keep the Patriots from going 0-2. He delivered a clean performance with few mistakes and zero turnovers. His stats were not gargantuan as Goff's, but were solid enough to deliver the win.
Maye equaled a career best 82.6 percent completion percentage (he also did that against Arizona in December of 2024) on a very efficient 19 of 23 for 230 yards. On a day the Patriots wisely went often to the run to set up the pass, the opposite of what they did in Week 1, Maye's passing and lack of turnovers were an essential component of the win.
The sophomore quarterback threw for two touchdowns and used his running ability for another in putting up a three-touchdown day. While he was sacked three times, the signs are beginning to emerge that Vrabel's retooling of the offensive line is starting to show results.
Rookie left tackle Will Campbell has had a couple of tough moments, but he's already showing why the Patriots used the fourth-overall pick in the 2025 draft on the left tackle. Follow rookie Jared Wilson, who started both Patriots' games at left guard, also had a solid game, as did the three veterans, Mike Onwenu, Garrett Bradbury, and Morgan Moses (though he had two false start penalties among the totally unacceptable 12 penalties overall on the team).
An NFL team's fortunes are always tied to rise or fall with its quarterback. Young veteran Maye, who has started only 14 games in his NFL career, is just beginning to hit his stride for the New England Patriots. As the 2025 team coalesces and Maye gains more experience and confidence as a result of performances like his against Miami, the team's fortunes will look up.