The Buffalo Bills aren’t unfamiliar with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Maye played well as a rookie, even if the rest of the Patriots didn’t. He showed in his 12 starts as a rookie that he had sky-high potential.
That said, few people around the NFL thought Maye would already have the Patriots as a potential 1-seed in the AFC, positioned to win the AFC East for the first time since Tom Brady left town, all while being on the short list of favorites to win the MVP award.
Maye got his first official win over Allen and the Bills in their previous meeting back in October to set most of those accolades into motion.
Sean McDermott and Josh Allen weigh in on Drake Maye’s rapid rise in the AFC East
Ahead of the second meeting, both head coach Sean McDermott and Josh Allen heaped praise on the young quarterback who turned the AFC East on its head.
“He continues to grow. His development, Year 1 to Year 2, right away, you look at the coaching he’s getting in Josh McDaniels, and then you’re looking at the players, the people around him, the staff around him,” McDermott said on Wednesday. “Maye is playing at a very, very high level.”
“Obviously, Drake is playing at an extremely high level right now. He’s extremely fun to watch,” Allen said. He later added, “He’s playing like a veteran quarterback. He’s seeing things extremely well. He plays at a great pace; it looks like things have slowed down for him. Which again, we hate to see that.”
That last bit came with a smirk, a nod to the rivalry. Allen has an off-the-field relationship with Maye through their shared agent, which he clarified in his Wednesday presser. Allen assured the Bills faithful that he isn’t talking a lot of football with Maye, but more so personal life topics.
Ironically, the only game Maye did not score a touchdown in this season was against Buffalo, despite his team coming away with the last-second field goal victory. However, since that meeting, Maye has scored multiple touchdowns in six of eight games, and of course, the Patriots haven’t lost either.
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That said, Maye’s offense is shorthanded without stud left tackle Will Campbell in the lineup, an advantage that Buffalo could capitalize on, especially if Joey Bosa does make his return from a hamstring injury this week.
Nonetheless, McDermott and Allen didn’t oversell Maye’s hype by any stretch of the imagination. The Bills' defense will have its hands full in trying to slow him and the rest of the Patriots’ offense down.