Drake Maye and the New England Patriots are preparing for their toughest test of the season as they face the undefeated Buffalo Bills in Week 5. The rookie quarterback has been in impressive form, completing over 75 percent of his passes and throwing two touchdowns in each of his last three games — all resulting in Patriots victories. Now, Maye aims to keep that momentum going on the road in Buffalo on Sunday night.
On her self-titled podcast, ESPN analyst Mina Kimes highlighted how well Maye has performed so far this season. She noted that he ranks third in expected points added per dropback, even above Bills star Josh Allen. He’s also among the top 10 quarterbacks in categories such as success rate, accuracy rate, and completion percentage over expected. However, Kimes raised one key concern — how Maye will fare against stronger competition.
“The only thing he’s not top 10 in is DVOA, which adjusts for opponent,” Kimes explained. “That’s the big question. He’s looked great and very accurate, but he hasn’t faced elite teams yet.”
Kimes expects Buffalo’s top-ranked rushing offense to be effective against the Patriots’ strong run defense, which has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards through four weeks. That means New England may need Maye and the offense to put up significant points to stay competitive. “I’d like to see if Drake Maye can go toe-to-toe,” she said. “The Bills’ defense is okay — they’re still missing some guys — but one of the underrated stories this season has been how well Drake Maye is playing.”
While Kimes predicted that Buffalo would come out on top, she believes the Patriots could make things interesting. Her podcast guest, Brett Kollmann, went even further, predicting a possible New England upset. “There’s always one game a week that doesn’t go the way people expect,” Kollmann said. “I think this is going to be that one.”
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