After a Week 2 win over the Steelers, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel didn’t want to have his Sunday “ruined” by questions about the performance of quarterback Drake Maye. Vrabel also didn’t seem to want to have his Wednesday ruined by them, either.
Asked during his midweek press conference whether the pendulum for Maye “maybe swung too far back in the other direction” from being overly aggressive in Week 1 against the Seahawks (when he had three game-killing fourth-quarter interceptions) to being too careful in Week 2 against the Steelers, Vrabel didn’t seem to be thrilled with the inquiry.
“Again, these are questions that I would like to answer on Monday,” Vrabel said. “I think I was willing to do that. The focus has got to be on Jacksonville and our performance. Whether it’s the pendulum — it’s being decisive in everyone’s play, but it’s certainly magnified with the quarterback. So being decisive, believing in what you see. Again, that’s what we ask all our players to do is prepare to try to play fast and aggressively and make great decisions. So, yeah, we could always say, ‘Man, we should have let that one rip,’ or ‘We’ve got to make a better decision.’ Ultimately, it’s his responsibility to be able to distribute the football as quickly and decisively as possible in the places that it’s supposed to go, continue not to force things and try to just create a next play on every single play.”
Maye’s midweek press conference opened with a question regarding the importance of not overthinking and playing freely on the field.
“One of the best things about getting new chances every week is having to let the other ones go,” Maye said. “That’s one of the best things about this sport and playing this position. You’ve got to let plays go, and you want to be attacking the next play, learning from the ones in the past and getting after the next one. So, I definitely think, this job, it’s hard to play this position when you’re thinking about a lot of different things, and you are going to be regardless. It’s going to be natural to think about motions, fronts, defenses, what our guys are doing, route concept and what they’re doing versus the play we have up. So, just thinking and trying to be instinctive. That’s one of the best things I learned in college is to be instinctive and try to play as fast as you can back there.”
Maye later was asked about Vrabel’s comments on the importance of decisiveness and believing what he sees.
“I think that goes back to playing instinctive, seeing it, trusting what I see in practice, trusting the decisions I’m making out there on the field,” Maye said. “I’ve never shied away from trusting something and letting it rip. So, just knowing what I’m seeing, seeing it in front of the guys, and at the same time, giving our guys a chance to make a play. Sometimes, when you do that, you end up forcing the football into decisions that you maybe want back by trying to give your guys a chance to go make a play. So, realizing that, and also keeping the chains moving is just as important to get those next chances to push the ball down the field.”
Through two games in 2026, something is off. To the extent passer rating matters, Maye’s has fallen from 113.5 in 2025 to 63.1 in 2026. He had 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions last year. This year, he has one touchdown pass and four interceptions.
With upcoming games at Jacksonville and Buffalo, it’s an opportunity to turn the clock back a year. If not, an ugly early-season narrative could start taking root.
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