The New England Patriots made a shocking run to Super Bowl LX in Mike Vrabel's first year as head coach and Drake Maye's second NFL season. New England hasn't come close to resembling last season's 14-3 team through the first three weeks of the 2026 campaign though and thus far, Maye has looked nothing like the 2025 NFL MVP runner-up that he is. Vrabel discussed his signal-caller's early-season struggles on Monday, using a golf analogy to analyze Maye's situation.
Ultimately, the two-time AP Coach of the Year wants the 2024 third overall pick to relax. Vrabel's words Monday come on the heels of his postgame comments Sunday when he said that his "concern level" was "very high" for his team. New England fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-6 in Week 3.
The 1-2 Patriots are averaging a measly 12 points per game across their first three contests, a far cry from the 28.8 points that New England posted during the 2025 regular season which ranked second in the NFL. Brown's Week 1 high ankle sprain that landed him on injured reserve was a crushing blow to the Patriots offense, but Maye's performance this fall has also been at the center of the group's poor start. The 24-year-old finished the 2025 campaign with an NFL-best 72.0 completion percentage and 113.5 passer rating to go with 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Maye's regressed to a 63.8 completion percentage and 58.6 passer rating this season with 585 passing yards, one touchdown and NFL-high six interceptions. He went just 14-for-25 with 199 passing yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions Sunday against the Jaguars for a 48.6 passer rating, which was the second-worst in his career.
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