Drake Maye and the still-evolving offense will have a tough test against an unfamiliar opponent as the Patriots travel to face the Vikings.
New England and Minnesota will meet for a pair of joint practices Wednesday and Thursday before a preseason game caps the trip Saturday.
Patriots insider Phil Perry isn’t too confident in the Maye-led offense going up against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Flores, who learned under former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as an assistant in New England (2004-2018), is known for his aggressiveness and ability to bring pressure from anywhere.
“Talk about growing pains,” Perry told Tom E. Curran on the Patriots Talk podcast. “I think this could be the type of week where the fact they are as young as they are, and everybody is as new as they are to this Josh McDaniels’ offense, really kind of gets exposed.”
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Perry anticipates giving New England’s offense a low grade at the end of the week, especially given how the group looked during Day 14 of training camp at Gillette Stadium on Monday.
“The way the Vikings play defense is just complicated,” Perry said. “They live in this exotic world where they’re just always there. It’s not just on third down. It feels like they have a different look and a different style and approach for every down, every situation.”
Flores dramatically elevated the Vikings during his first year in Minnesota in 2024. The defense led the league in forced turnovers and interceptions. It recorded the fourth-most sacks in the league and its four-man pressure rate ranked second in the NFL. Additionally, Flores’ defense had the fourth-best stop percentage on third down.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels understands the challenge Flores presents. He spent years on the same coaching staff and went head-to-head countless times with Flores, who was previously viewed as New England’s de facto defensive coordinator.
“We’re going to see a lot of different things,” McDaniels said before practice Monday. “They’ll align in different spots. They’ll pressure us in different ways that maybe our defense hasn’t yet. It’s just great to go up there and get tested.
“What happens in these practices is you find out how well you know your rules,” McDaniels continued. “You can’t anticipate everything. We’re not going to have three days of meetings and three practices to get ready to play them. I’m sure we’re going to learn a lot.”
Knowing those “rules,” as McDaniels put it, will be critical — especially after the Washington Commanders forced a Drake Maye turnover with a defensive line stunt during New England’s preseason opener on Friday night.
The snap, which featured a miscommunication between rookie left tackle Will Campbell and rookie left guard Jared Wilson, is the exact kind of confusion Flores will try to create.
“Unless they can get on to those base fundamentals and those rules that Josh McDaniels was talking about, and everybody gets on the same page over the course of the next 48 hours, I think it could look pretty ugly for the offense,” Perry said.
“That period at the end of practice today, I thought, was a good sign of how far they have to go. And now they’re going to have to go against one of, in my opinion, one of the brightest defensive minds the sport has to offer.”
Also in this episode:
- Are Drake Maye’s turnovers cause for concern?
- How Mike Vrabel is getting the most out of Maye’s leadership
- Breaking down how the offense looked on Day 14
