Short-term focus was always a key piece to how the New England Patriots ruled the NFL during their 21st-century dynasty. They always looked at "the next one" and never looked past any opponent, no matter what their record was.
Second-year quarterback Drake Maye appears to be embracing that mindset. The Patriots' 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday was the team's biggest in quite a while, but it won't mean much if New England stumbles against the 1-4 New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The NFL is a week-to-week league and players on the bad teams get paychecks the same way the likes of Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts do, and if you let down, you're not going to like the results. Case in point? The New York Giants stuffed it to the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles 34-17 on "Thursday Night Football."
Sunday's game in New Orleans represents a chance for the Patriots to win their third straight game and match their win total from the 2024 season. It also means an opportunity for New England to prove it belongs in the playoff conversation by taking care of business against a bad team.
Drake Maye says their huge win in Buffalo means nothing unless they “keep building on it:”
— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) October 8, 2025
“…I think it’s more about getting back at it. I think you can remember one game in whatever week that was, Week 5, and it doesn’t mean anything unless you keep building on it and make it… pic.twitter.com/Kgl5bWYUdc
Drake Maye's approach to the 2025 season is proving to be very Tom Brady-like
Listening to what Maye had to say recently about putting the Buffalo win in the rearview mirror and focusing on the Saints sounded awfully familiar to Patriots' fans.
Remember when some guy named Tom Brady would echo those same thoughts in his mid-week press conferences? The Patriots often liked the results when they focused on that focus.
For all the great things the Patriots did in Orchard Park, flaws still remain. For instance, New England's running game has been inconsistent, and Rhamondre Stevenson's fumbling issues have reappeared. If the Patriots give the ball away against a bad team like the Saints and give them hope, that's what often leads to bad results.
Maye's message about building will certainly be heard loud and clear throughout the building, and perhaps he's sending a message to himself, too. He hasn't turned the ball over in the Patriots' last two games, perhaps a sign that the second-year quarterback is putting his turnover tendencies behind him as he matures.
The Patriots need to get off to a fast start and not let this Saints team have any hope. Slow starts plagued the Patriots in their losses to Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, and the last thing you want to do is give a team that's closer to the first pick in the draft than the playoffs any sort of confidence, especially in their building.
All the while, Maye's comments just go to show the leader that he's becoming and the effect that Mike Vrabel and the rest of the coaching staff are having on this team. Those ripples will go a long way to the Patriots being successful.