It's no secret that Drake Maye will be in the spotlight when the Patriots take on the Steelers in Week 2 after his utterly disappointing performance against the Seahawks.
After an underwhelming showing for much of the game, his poor decision-making led to three consecutive drives ending in interceptions, sealing the win for Seattle and raising questions about what kind of season the quarterback might have despite leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl last year.
It was a performance many feel is becoming far too normal for the 24-year-old, since his postseason production was not ideal, even though he faced some of the league's top defenses.
Now he'll face even more pressure against another tough defensive front on Sunday, with T.J. Watt leading the way. It will be a big test whether Maye can handle the heat and bounce back the way the Patriots need him to, and it's clear that even Mike Vrabel is putting him in the hot seat, too.
Drake Maye has a lot to live up to after a Week 1 dud against the Seahawks
During his weekly Monday appearance on WEEI, the Patriots head coach was asked about Maye's performance and his reaction to the quarterback's candid explanation of what might have led to the three late-game interceptions.
That's when Vrabel made it clear that Maye needs to adjust moving forward, while also saying that they trust him to make the right decisions.
If that's not a challenge to leave the bad performance in the past and ensure it never happens again, then what is?
“You have to know who you’re playing. You get yourself in a third-and-long situation, and try to throw the ball down the middle of the field, there’s lot of bodies there. As far as the patience, you know, (it’s) obviously being calculated and knowing when you can take a chance, and where the ball has to go.
We trust him with the ball implicitly to make great decisions. Whether that’s to keep it and scramble or to throw it. We’ll get back to work.”
Over the past two years, Maye has shown he can be the consistent and reliable player the Patriots have been looking for since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season. There's a reason they quickly deemed him their next franchise quarterback, and he needs to show he can be that on a weekly basis after last week's disappointing performance.
It starts with making good decisions, as Vrabel has emphasized, and that has long been a strength for Maye.
But he's developing a bad habit of playing catch-up when the offense is playing catch-up, forcing a play or trying to play hero ball when it's just not there, and that's what led to him throwing the game away last week.
That can't happen against the Steelers if he wants his team to have a legitimate shot at competing during the 2026 season, which Vrabel reiterated ahead of the game.
“We have to make better decisions. That’s what it was last week. I want us to believe that we’re going down there to win the football game. That’s what I want us to believe. We converted two fourth downs, a long-yardage situation that we battled back from. If it’s not there, it’s not there. But I also want us to believe that we’re going down there to win the football game, not just to tie it up.”
They'll have a chance to do that when they welcome the Steelers to Gillette Stadium for their home opener on Sunday afternoon.
It's expected that they'll have the home crowd on their side, and they should use that to their advantage. A win puts their season back on track, while a loss derails it completely. So let's hope they don't disappoint and that Maye can be the quarterback we have all grown to appreciate over the past two years.
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