In the years since Tom Brady announced he was leaving the Patriots and eventually signed with the Buccaneers, fans have been hoping the team will find their next franchise quarterback, if not a Brady clone, and in some ways, many have been quick to believe they have found the right guy. That is, until Drake Maye came along in 2024.
Although there was solid support for Mac Jones as the right successor, that support didn't last long, and the Patriots needed a new leader. That inevitably led to a lot of losing, which gifted them the No. 3 overall pick in last year's draft, allowing Maye to become their next quarterback.
He has impressed over the last two years, particularly in 2025, when he was a frontrunner for the MVP Award, trailing only Matthew Stafford, and helped lead the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
His playoff performance hasn't matched what we saw from him in the regular season, which has many concerned about how he will fare against another top-5 defense with Seattle on the docket next, but when you look at his stats, they align fairly well with those of one of the greatest of all time, and that's certainly something to keep in mind.
Drake Maye's playoff performance was not as bad as some want to believe
As seen against the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos, Maye's struggles have dominated the conversation about the Patriots' path to the Super Bowl, as his performances have not met the standard he set through the regular season.
That has many analysts questioning just how good he really is, and will be, for the team, but when looking at Brady's stats through his first three playoff games, they're nearly identical.
It proves even more that your stat line doesn't tell the entire story, and at the end of the day, all that matters is whether you won or you lost, not if the quarterback threw for 300+ yards and four touchdowns.
Tom Brady | Drake Maye | |
|---|---|---|
Passing yards | 572 | 533 |
Completion % | 61.9 | 55.8 |
Passing touchdowns | 1 | 4 |
Rushing touchdowns | 0 | 1 |
Interceptions | 1 | 2 |
Passer rating | 77.3 | 84.0 |
We know what Brady accomplished in the early seasons of his career, and that's not a suggestion that Maye will do the same, but it's an example of what we see on the box score doesn't tell the whole story, nor should it invalidate how well a quarterback performed, especially if he helped get the win.
That will be what is expected of Maye at just 23-years-old, and he's shown he can be exactly what the Patriots need in their biggest games.
It's a lot of pressure, and maybe two weeks of preparation will help ensure he plays at the MVP-level we saw throughout the regular season. However, if he doesn't, he's capable of playing good enough to get the job done, and that's all that will matter at the end of Super Bowl LX. Nobody will care if his stats are ugly or not if he brings home another Lombardi to Foxborough.