FOXBORO — Drake Maye will get all kinds of credit for having uncommon bodily traits. He is been lauded for his ability to process behind middle and his willingness to guide.
However there’s one talent he possesses that’s among the many most elementary for any quarterback, at any stage, hoping to attain some modicum of success: He can place the soccer nearly wherever he desires, every time he desires.
Maye has been unquestionably one of the most accurate quarterbacks in football in 2025. No small feat, particularly provided that on the time he was drafted, one of many knocks on his sport was that some inconsistencies in his mechanics at occasions led to scattershot ball placement.
Lower than two years later, Maye is first within the NFL amongst qualifiers within the following classes:
- Completion proportion (71.9)
- Quarterback score (113.2)
- Ben Baldwin’s completion proportion over anticipated metric (10.1)
- NextGen’s anticipated factors added (+84.1) and EPA per dropback (+0.21)
- Quarterback score (135.4) and EPA (+39.8) on deep passes
- CPOE on intermediate passes (+13.8)
- Quarterback score (107.6), CPOE (10.7) and EPA per dropback (-0.10) when pressured
“Simply being aggressive,” Maye mentioned this week. “I feel that is the most important factor. I am aggressive and I wish to make good throws. I wish to full passes in tight home windows and provides good ball placement for catch-and-run (alternatives).
“My highschool coach used to inform me, he talked about yards after catch and ball placement. I’ve tried to take it from there and in all places I’ve gone. I feel accuracy is among the greatest issues. You see so many nice quarterbacks which can be so correct, and I feel it is an important praise when any person says you are correct, and I feel that is what you attempt to work in direction of. Since I bought within the league, that is one thing that I’ve simply tried to determine from the get-go is to attempt to be correct.”
Maye’s has posted these gaudy accuracy metrics regardless of being some of the aggressive quarterbacks within the league. He has someway adeptly toed the road between gunslinger and sport supervisor. He is taking dangers however not experiencing a lot in the best way of detrimental when taking these probabilities as a result of his ball placement has been on level.
Maye is at the moment second within the NFL in air yards per goal (9.0). Amongst quarterbacks with at the very least 200 makes an attempt this season, he is eighth in NextGen’s “aggressiveness” metric (16.9 %), which tracks the speed at which a passer targets a receiver with one yard of separation or much less.
When Mike Vrabel was requested this week if Maye’s accuracy this yr is a realized trait or an innate one, he called upon a baseball analogy.
“I feel most likely just a little little bit of each,” he mentioned. “I feel that (offensive coordinator) Josh [McDaniels] and (quarterbacks coach) Ashton [Grant] have tried to work arduous on that. I additionally assume Drake is proficient.
“It is like a pitcher. I do not know if there is a pitching coach that basically taught Greg Maddux find out how to paint the plate and put the ball wherever he wished it. So, I feel there’s some pure talent there, however then I feel that they work on these issues.
“They work on platform, throwing off at totally different locations, nonetheless remaining correct, climbing the pocket, working with a base and all these issues. After which there’s different occasions the place it is simply pure athletic means, hand-eye coordination and placing the ball in good spots.”
Baldwin, who runs the soccer analytics web site rbsdm.com, defines CPOE as a pre-calculated metric that’s primarily based on historic passing makes an attempt made in related conditions. It takes under consideration a number of variables like subject place, down and distance, complete air yards and extra.
Up to now, Maye has damaged the mildew in relation to that specific statistic.
Since Baldwin has been monitoring it during the last decade, going again to the 2016 season, no participant has rated extra extremely than Maye (10.1) this season. No participant has cracked 8.0 in CPOE, and Maye is on tempo to be greater than two proportion factors larger than that. The one league leaders in that class to crack 7.0 are Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts in 2024 (7.5), Inexperienced Bay’s Aaron Rodgers in 2020 (7.2), Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill in 2019 (7.7) and Seattle’s Russell Wilson in 2018 (7.5).
McDaniels sees in Maye a uncommon mixture of processing energy and uncooked means to get an oblong-shaped ball from Level A to Level B.
“Any time a quarterback has a very good day, a very good apply, or a very good season, no matter it’s when it comes to completion proportion and giving the blokes a possibility to catch the ball, I feel he is bought to pay attention to what’s occurring within the protection finish of it,” McDaniels mentioned. “(He has to) know what our guys are doing in order that he will the fitting place with the ball.
“Then, definitely, having the talent, the power, the expertise to place the ball in a spot the place our guys can catch it and no one else can contact it. I feel I have been very impressed together with his means to do this. He is finished it in any respect three ranges of the sphere, which is one other factor that I am actually enthusiastic about, and he can entry these totally different factors on the sphere when it is the fitting time to throw it there.”
Maye has been efficient towards nearly each protection kind and stress scheme this season, however he is seen a big quantity of zone protection (64 %, based on Sumer Sports activities), and his means to place contact on the soccer to get it to the place it must go has helped spark some of the environment friendly passing assaults within the NFL.
In opposition to zone, per Sumer Sports activities, Maye has a completion proportion of 76.6, he is averaging 9.0 yards per try and he has eight touchdowns and simply two interceptions.
“That is really a really underrated attribute,” Henry mentioned when requested in regards to the various ranges of contact Maye makes use of on various kinds of passes. “Clearly, you see across the league, there’s quite a lot of zone protection. The various of throws, of contact, and layering it, having to place it in numerous spots, I imply, it’s important to have that. He has all that.
“He simply throws a catchable ball. It is easy. You possibly can belief in your route that you do not have to hurry something. He simply throws you a ball that is simple to catch.”
In opposition to Cincinnati’s permissive secondary, Maye ought to have loads extra alternatives to indicate off simply how correct he might be. And maybe he’ll accomplish that with some of the correct quarterbacks within the NFL for the final a number of seasons on the other sideline.
Let’s get to essentially the most important matchups of this Week 12 contest between the Patriots and Bengals…
Matchup that can decide the result
Drake Maye vs. Bengals’ porous secondary
Take one take a look at the superior metrics in relation to the Bengals’ cross protection, and it would not take lengthy to get a really feel for what has been a soccer catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions.
They rank final in factors per sport (33.4), EPA per play, EPA per dropback, EPA allowed on quick cross makes an attempt, EPA allowed when going through movement, blitz proportion, blitz EPA and success price (50.9 %). They rank second-to-last in passing yards per sport (257.3), explosive play proportion (12.4), EPA allowed when going through under-center appears, and EPA allowed to 11-personnel packages.
Given the season Maye is having — he is second within the NFL with a 55 % completion price on passes that journey 20 yards or extra past the road of scrimmage — count on him to attempt to hit on an explosive try or two early. The Patriots have the third-best explosive play price (12.7) within the NFL this season, per Sumer Sports activities.
Matchup that would shock you
Patriots’ protection vs. Chase Brown
The Bengals offense is headlined by an All-Professional quarterback and maybe the perfect “No. 2” receiver within the NFL. But when Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins have themselves a sport, you would not be surprised. What may shock you, nonetheless, is that if working again Chase Brown is ready to go off towards what has been one of many higher run defenses in soccer in 2025.
This matchup bears watching as a result of the Bengals are — surprisingly, maybe — second within the NFL in EPA per rush. The Patriots, in the meantime, are fourth in limiting EPA when going through speeding makes an attempt.
That Bengals speeding offense may very well be restricted, as it would see extra our bodies crowding the road of scrimmage with out Ja’Marr Chase attracting consideration down the sphere. However the Patriots have hit some bumps within the street defending the run of late — they’ve allowed 5.0 yards per rush in every of the final two weeks — so do not be stunned if Cincinnati checks them on the bottom, particularly with defensive deal with Milton Williams (ankle) on injured reserve.
Matchup that can make your Sunday
Patriots’ working sport vs. Bengals’ porous run protection
Did we point out this Bengals’ protection is struggling on all fronts? As a result of it isn’t simply the passing sport that has had its points this season.
No workforce permits extra speeding yards per sport (160.9), and the Bengals have the second-worst protection in relation to EPA allowed per rush. In opposition to heavy personnel groupings with a number of backs or tight ends, Cincy has been poor from an EPA-allowed standpoint, checking in because the third-most ineffective protection towards 12-personnel (one again, two tight ends) units and the seventh-worst towards 21-personnel (two backs, one tight finish) appears.
Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) has been restricted in apply this week, but when he is in a position to play, maybe that enables TreVeyon Henderson to provide the Patriots offense the perfect model of himself in additional restricted work.
Both approach, the Patriots ought to have loads of room to run on this one. And in the event that they’re in a position to play with a lead, that ought to imply all types of alternatives for them to empty the clock because the planes get warmed up to return to New England.
Matchup that would break your Sunday
Zak Kuhr vs. Joe Burrow
Here is the one wild card on this one. For as dangerous because the Bengals have been, and regardless of lacking an all-world wideout within the suspended Chase, the power to trot one of many sport’s finest quarterbacks onto the sphere Sunday offers Cincinnati a puncher’s likelihood.
Burrow hasn’t performed since Week 2, when a toe harm knocked him out of motion and required surgical procedure. However he is practiced in full this week, and his alternative — Joe Flacco — is coping with a shoulder problem. As of this writing, it hasn’t but been decided that Burrow will definitely play. However it would come as a serious surprise to see a franchise quarterback apply totally after which not play in his workforce’s sport quickly thereafter.
How one can restrict him? With one critical risk on the skin, Higgins, this might come all the way down to what sort of efficiency the Patriots get from prime cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
a significant payday as early as this offseason, Gonzalez hasn’t all the time been utilized by Vrabel and defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr to shadow the opposing workforce’s finest receiver. However this would appear like a very good alternative for that form of task — particularly in passing conditions.
There aren’t many No. 1-caliber wideouts remaining on the Patriots’ schedule, which means this may very well be an opportunity for Gonzalez to additional show he is worthy of no matter extension is perhaps slid his approach within the coming months.
Prediction: Patriots 34, Bengals 20
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