The Patriots are rolling and extended their win streak to three with a 25-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Kayshon Boutte shined for New England with five catches, while Drake Maye continued his strong play and threw for 261 yards with three touchdowns. The quarterback also didn’t let a late, bad call that negated a 61-yard touchdown to Pop Douglas define the game.
But rather than getting rattled after having the momentum ripped from them, Maye and the rest of the Patriots returned to the field for another drive that ended with a Boutte touchdown.
Here’s a roundup of what those around the NFL are saying about the Week 6 win.
“The lack of a consistent running game made the Patriots one-dimensional, as the offense relied on Maye’s arm and growing knack for making clutch passing plays when things break down. The silver lining is that the team’s pass protection has improved to a point that airing it out can still be a winning formula, with Maye’s scrambling ability producing unscripted rushing yards. But the glass-half-empty view is that a team playing in the Northeast is likely going to need to run the ball late in the season when the weather turns cold.”
“Coming off a momentous win over the Buffalo Bills, some wondered if the Patriots would go through the motions on the road in a letdown game. On the contrary, New England looked sharp, particularly quarterback Drake Maye, who threw for 261 passing yards and three touchdowns.
“Saying this in the offseason would sound blasphemous, but with a win over the Bills in Buffalo, the Patriots could challenge for the AFC East title. At 4-2, New England will face a couple of one-win teams in the next two weeks, the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns.”
“If Drake Maye isn’t on your list of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL, he should be now. In his game, Maye threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns while finishing with a nearly perfect passer rating of 140.1. Maye made Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas look like All-Pros. At 4-2, the Patriots are looking like they’re going to be a serious playoff contender and Mike Vrabel is looking a strong early candidate for Coach of the Year. The future looks bright for New England as Maye continues to shine.”
“The biggest star turn of the first six weeks definitively belongs to Maye, who tossed three more touchdowns to power the New England Patriots’ 25-19 win over the New Orleans Saints. His numbers (18-of-26, 261 yards) would look even gaudier if not for a pair of controversial offensive pass interference penalties that wiped out long gains. Maye is managing to keep New England’s offense rolling despite the lack of any consistent presence in the ground game, as he led all rushers with 28 yards. It’s not the best formula to foist on your second-year quarterback, but the Patriots will take any solution that propels them in the AFC playoff race.”
“The second-year quarterback already has four multi-touchdown games in six weeks this season – Sunday was 18-for-26 for 261 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, and he led the Patriots in rushing with 28 yards.
“New England is off to a 4-2 start after finishing 4-13 last season. Few quarterbacks in the league have less to work with at receiver, with two touchdowns Sunday to Kayshon Boutte and a third to DeMario Douglas. Maye now has the third-best season passer rating in the league, behind only Jared Goff and Sam Darnold.”
“The Patriots are suddenly 4-2, and their young quarterback is making splash plays every game. Drake Maye threw for three TDs – and it should have been more – in another terrific showing, exhibiting the kind of poise you don’t always see in second-year QBs. In a game where Stefon Diggs was ineffective, Maye found Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas and also used his running ability effectively, with two third-down conversions and a 20-yard scramble that set up a field goal that made it a two-score game. Maye was only sacked once and hit a few times, but the pressure was there quite often.
“Time and time again, Maye stared down the rush and delivered accurate throws all over the field – even with the Patriots making their share of self-inflicted errors. He also had a TD and nearly 100 passing yards negated by Patriots penalties, and Maye wasn’t at fault on a bad fourth-down snap that led to a turnover on downs. He’s the biggest reason the Patriots are two games over .500 right now, even with some early-season miscues to factor in.”
“The stats tell some of the story. After a so-so season-opening loss to the Raiders, Maye’s been on a heater, posting five triple-digit passer ratings in as many games, while throwing nine touchdown passes and one pick. Over that five-game stretch, Sunday’s 69.2% completion rate was his lowest, and he joined Patrick Mahomes, Dan Marino and Dak Prescott as the only quarterbacks under 24 with five consecutive games of 200 yards passing and 100 passer ratings.”
“McDaniels is a winner because he gets to coach Drake Maye, who followed up last Sunday night’s breakout performance against the Bills by playing even better in a 25-19 win in New Orleans. The second-year pro threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns on 26 attempts and completed 69.2 percent of his throws, which actually brought his season-long completion percentage down. He averaged 0.58 EPA per dropback, which led all passers this week through Sunday’s games.”
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