by Jazz Ray
Monday, Dec 08, 2025Barring a major injury or a complete flop in the final month of the season, Drake Maye is going to be the NFL’s MVP. His rise from 180-1 underdog to favorite today (in the -125/-135 range) has been as stunning as the Patriots’ rise to the top of the AFC.
A few months ago, as the teams were breaking camp, the Patriots knew they had their QB1 of the future but didn’t know if they could keep him healthy enough even to make it through the season. New England was coming off back-to-back 4-win seasons, had a new coach, new offensive line (with two rookies protecting Maye’s blind side), and a new defense built around free agents and other teams’ castoffs. Not exactly fertilizer for success, be it individual or team.
If there was MVP talk, it was centered in Buffalo, where the Bills and defending MVP Josh Allen looked at the rest of the AFC and chuckled; in Kansas City, where a spot in the Super Bowl behind Patrick Mahomes was starting to feel like a birthright; and in Baltimore, where two-time MVP winner Lamar Jackson was the betting favorite at +600.
In Foxboro, meanwhile, the talk was all about just getting better. It was clear that previous coach Jerod Mayo was in way over his head. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a meaningless Week 18 victory over the Bills, which moved the Pats from No. 1 in the draft down to No. 3. But that mishap (with reserve Joe Milton, not Maye, at QB) led to NE drafting left tackle Will Campbell. Along with LG Jared Wilson, they have kept Maye upright and allowed him to put up MVP-like numbers.
Through 13 games, Maye has completed 71.3 percent of his passes, with 23 touchdown passes against only six interceptions. And all that has been done against the headwinds of a mediocre running attack and the Patriots having more than their fair share of problems once they get to the red zone. Maye has been able to counter-balance the ineffective run game by being able to escape pressure. He’s the team’s third-leading rusher with nearly four yards a carry. Not exactly Lamar Jackson production, but good enough.
The most important numbers, of course, are 11-2 – which is the Patriots’ record heading into their Week 15 rematch against the Bills. If Maye and New England can get the job done at home, they will have officially flipped the AFC East on its head and signaled a changing of the guard from last year’s MVP (Buffalo’s Josh Allen) to Maye. Beating the Bills last October was a clear signal that it was not going to be business as usual in the AFC this season, and doing it again would complete the coronation and force Buffalo to hustle just to get to the playoffs. It would be NE’s 11th straight victory, and the comparisons of Maye to Tom You-know-Who would grow even louder.
If there are any Maye skeptics, they huddle now around the yeah-but fact that Maye has done all this while playing against one weak opponent after another. New England’s current win streak, due in no small part to the team’s putrid record last season, has been built on the backs of victories over the likes of weak sisters New Orleans, Cincinnati, Atlanta, the Giants, and AFC also-rans Dolphins and Jets. Fair enough, but the schedule-makers will get their revenge next season when they figure to play some division winners.
For now, it looks like the Patriots are set with Maye as their quarterback for the next decade or more, and (again, barring injury) he figures to be the MVP favorite when the 2026 season kicks off.
A few months ago, as the teams were breaking camp, the Patriots knew they had their QB1 of the future but didn’t know if they could keep him healthy enough even to make it through the season. New England was coming off back-to-back 4-win seasons, had a new coach, new offensive line (with two rookies protecting Maye’s blind side), and a new defense built around free agents and other teams’ castoffs. Not exactly fertilizer for success, be it individual or team.
If there was MVP talk, it was centered in Buffalo, where the Bills and defending MVP Josh Allen looked at the rest of the AFC and chuckled; in Kansas City, where a spot in the Super Bowl behind Patrick Mahomes was starting to feel like a birthright; and in Baltimore, where two-time MVP winner Lamar Jackson was the betting favorite at +600.
In Foxboro, meanwhile, the talk was all about just getting better. It was clear that previous coach Jerod Mayo was in way over his head. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a meaningless Week 18 victory over the Bills, which moved the Pats from No. 1 in the draft down to No. 3. But that mishap (with reserve Joe Milton, not Maye, at QB) led to NE drafting left tackle Will Campbell. Along with LG Jared Wilson, they have kept Maye upright and allowed him to put up MVP-like numbers.
Through 13 games, Maye has completed 71.3 percent of his passes, with 23 touchdown passes against only six interceptions. And all that has been done against the headwinds of a mediocre running attack and the Patriots having more than their fair share of problems once they get to the red zone. Maye has been able to counter-balance the ineffective run game by being able to escape pressure. He’s the team’s third-leading rusher with nearly four yards a carry. Not exactly Lamar Jackson production, but good enough.
The most important numbers, of course, are 11-2 – which is the Patriots’ record heading into their Week 15 rematch against the Bills. If Maye and New England can get the job done at home, they will have officially flipped the AFC East on its head and signaled a changing of the guard from last year’s MVP (Buffalo’s Josh Allen) to Maye. Beating the Bills last October was a clear signal that it was not going to be business as usual in the AFC this season, and doing it again would complete the coronation and force Buffalo to hustle just to get to the playoffs. It would be NE’s 11th straight victory, and the comparisons of Maye to Tom You-know-Who would grow even louder.
If there are any Maye skeptics, they huddle now around the yeah-but fact that Maye has done all this while playing against one weak opponent after another. New England’s current win streak, due in no small part to the team’s putrid record last season, has been built on the backs of victories over the likes of weak sisters New Orleans, Cincinnati, Atlanta, the Giants, and AFC also-rans Dolphins and Jets. Fair enough, but the schedule-makers will get their revenge next season when they figure to play some division winners.
For now, it looks like the Patriots are set with Maye as their quarterback for the next decade or more, and (again, barring injury) he figures to be the MVP favorite when the 2026 season kicks off.
