Drake Maye for MVP? Patriots QB adds to résumé with three-touchdown showing vs. vaunted Browns defense

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The chants from the Foxborough faithful began immediately after Drake Maye ripped off a 28-yard scramble. 

MVP! MVP! MVP! 

As those chants echoed throughout Gillette Stadium, the second-year quarterback only gave them further validation. On the very next play, Maye uncorked a 39-yard touchdown on a beautifully placed deep ball to Kayshon Boutte on the left side of the end zone. That blew the roof off the stadium, blew the game wide open en route to the Patriots' 32-12 victory over the Browns, and continued what is a bona fide MVP bid for the 2024 first-round pick. 

"No, I didn't hear it," Maye said of the MVP chants. "The guys were making fun of me about my slide back in the huddle on the long run, so I didn't hear it. But the fans have been awesome all season."

The score not only proved to be Maye's MVP moment of the week, but it capped off an explosive third quarter where the Patriots offense poured on 21 points, all three touchdowns coming from the arm of the young signal-caller. That second-half surge was much-needed for a New England team that was clinging to a mere 9-7 lead heading into the halftime locker room. Given the team's prior struggles at Gillette Stadium as of late (4-16 since 2023 heading into Week 8), there was a flicker of concern that the lead and the team's winning streak could be at risk, especially after Maye completed 10 of his 16 passes for 168 yards and an interception. 

But, in the blink of an eye, those fears were eased as Maye's game elevated. In the second half, he completed all eight of his throws for 114 yards, three passing touchdowns, and a 158.3 passer rating to slam the door shut on the Browns. 

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That came on a day when he was sacked six times, five of which came from star pass rusher Myles Garrett. It was also against a Cleveland defense that was No. 1 in the NFL in total yards allowed (256.1) and No. 3 in fewest passing yards allowed (173.7) coming into Week 8, further bolstering Maye's MVP bid. 

"Yeah, just bouncing back," Maye said of the team battling through some early struggles. "I threw an early interception. We talked about it all week, kind of what they strived on their defense, putting their offense in good positions. I was looking downfield and forgot the guy in front of me could jump. So he picked it. Nice play by him. But just bouncing back from adversity. ...  Good to handle adversity and come out of halftime, and to score three touchdowns in the third quarter was big."

It's a rapid ascent for Maye, the No. 3 overall pick at the 2024 NFL Draft. The last time the home crowd saw him, he had managed to help the Patriots claw back to .500 on the season at 2-2 in what was a blowout win over Carolina. At the time, the expectation was for the team to simply stabilize and remain in wild card contention. 

Since then, New England has only added to its winning streak (extended now to five games), has jumped into first place in the AFC East, and Maye has been at the center of it all. Now, not only are the Patriots currently in the driver's seat of winning the division for the first time since 2019, but Maye has injected himself firmly in the MVP discourse. 

He entered Week 8 leading the NFL in completion percentage (75.2%) and passer rating (116.4). That rating will only improve after posting a 135.8 mark on Sunday. Maye has now gone seven straight games with at least 200 yards passing and at least 100.0 passer rating. That puts him in a group of just four other quarterbacks to ever accomplish such a feat at any point in their careers within the same season: Aaron Rodgers (2011, 2020), Patrick Mahomes (2018), Peyton Manning (2004) and Tom Brady (2007). In those prior instances, each of those quarterbacks went on to win the MVP that season. 

And if Maye follows in line with these elite quarterbacks, the Patriots will not only have an MVP quarterback once again, but also be back in the Super Bowl conversation in short order, which is a remarkable development after back-to-back 4-13 seasons.