Patriots are witnessing a second-year leap from Drake Maye that stats won’t show

The New England Patriots rocked the NFL world with a 14-3 record, as unexpected as it was amazing. Leading the charge were the team's presumptive NFL Coach of the Year, Mike Vrabel, and their MVP-level quarterback, Drake Maye. Both exhibit the leadership traits of a champion.

After their first playoff win against the Chargers, Maye, who had a rare off-night, had some great comments lauding the fans, his defense, and his offensive line.

Leaders lead and bring followers along. Both Vrabel, a proven leader, and the young Maye, who has taken on the on-field leadership of the team, are proving that talent and leadership are a winning combination.

Vrabel led in the offseason by assembling a solid team around Maye on offense and by adding playmakers to every level of his defense. Now the former NFL Coach of the Year has taken the team he assembled and won the AFC East, one of his few stated goals, in his very first season at the helm.

Buttressing the effort is the indispensable piece, his quarterback, and that's where Drake Maye has stepped to the forefront.

Drake Maye leads on the field and off for the Patriots

An essential quality of a true leader is on-field ability in sports. Few leaders are appendages on a successful team. To lead, you have to be at the forefront of the winning efforts. Maye has done just that in his breakout sophomore year.

Shattering any thoughts of a sophomore slump, Maye under Vrabel has had an MVP season, whether he actually wins the award or not.

Now, his recent comments after his first playoff game victory against the LA Chargers demonstrate how he's assuming the mantle of a true leader off the field, as well.

The self-effacing Maye is a quiet yet effective leader who realizes that no matter how good his own performances are, it's all about the team in the broadest sense. He knows that it's a joint effort of all the multiple parts that make the whole successful. That includes his coaching staff, teammates, and, as he noted, the Foxborough Faithful, the fans who buttress the team in its winning ways.

Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye are a Super Bowl-winning capable tandem

When Mike Vrabel was hired just over a year ago on January 12, 2025, he said that one of the main reasons was the presence of Drake Maye. An astute NFL personnel evaluator, Vrabel could see that the young, then 22-year-old, had the capability of taking the top off the NFL, and he wanted to help him do so. The duo has done just that.

Vrabel, Maye, and company have ripped off a 15-3 record and are now just one win away from the AFC Championship game. Vrabel had been there before and lost. But now he has Maye, and with his comments saluting his compatriots, he's setting the stage for even greater heroics.

Maye lauded his offensive line, the unit that makes everything happen. He's trying to build them up even though they gave up five sacks against the Chargers and 52 in 18 games. Regardless, they will make or break the next game or games, and Maye knows it.

He also praised his defense, which did a special job bottling up Justin Herbert and the Chargers, holding them to a mere three points. It takes all phases of the game to win, and Maye, as a leader, recognizes that fact.

And to put the frosting on the cake, the young quarterback also gave big kudos to the Gillette Stadium fandom. They roared behind the resurgent Patriots, as they did for decades during the glory days of Tom Brady and company, and spurred them on to a tough, hard-fought victory. That's also a demonstration of real leadership.

The Patriots have leadership at the highest levels in abundance, with Head Coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye out in front. Don't count them out of winning anything and everything this season, just like Brady's 2001 team did.