Have we already seen the worst of quarterback Drake Maye this season?
That’s the question undoubtedly on the minds of New England fans as the Patriots prepare for an AFC East matchup with the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Through three games, Maye has looked nothing like he did a year ago, when he led the Patriots (1-2) to the Super Bowl and finished as the runner-up to Matthew Stafford in voting for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award. Maye has thrown one touchdown pass and has been intercepted six times.
Although he practiced on Wednesday, Maye was on New England’s injury report due to a right shoulder issue. He said the injury has not affected his play on the field.
“No, it hasn’t,” he said. “It hasn’t. And it doesn’t impact my decision-making. That’s what makes and breaks play for quarterbacks. I don’t feel like we’re struggling to move the ball. I think we’re turning the football over, doing things that are preventing us from scoring touchdowns. And I think that’s one of the biggest things for me.”
Maye has also been sacked nine times this season.
“You turn on the tape from last year, and it was dynamic,” Buffalo defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said. “You just have to put some pressure on him and hope that the trend continues. Great players are eventually going to come out the other side. You just hope it’s after you play them.”
The Patriots are tied for the NFL lead with eight turnovers.
“If we want to get where we need to get to, we’re going to have to go through bumps along the way,” New England coach Mike Vrabel said. “This is all a part of the journey. When we talked about preparing for the journey, the journey wasn’t always going to be 10 wins in a row, road warriors and everything else. It comes, sometimes, with turnovers, you give up touchdowns, you miss a field goal, and sometimes that’s what the journey looks like.”
Buffalo (3-0) is one of three unbeaten teams in the AFC, joining the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, but the Bills turned the ball over five times last week in a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Quarterback Josh Allen was intercepted twice and lost a fumble in the win, though he ran for two touchdowns.
“I’m not concerned with Josh,” Buffalo coach Joe Brady said. “It’s so hard to play the quarterback position. You can look at Josh, for example. The questions I’m getting about Josh this week are different than the first two weeks. … It’s a week-to-week league.”
Buffalo running back James Cook III ranks third in the NFL with 346 rushing yards. The Bills are averaging 5.2 yards per carry, which is tied for second in the league.
“(The Patriots) were a great defense last year, and through three games they haven’t taken any dropoffs,” Brady said. “They’re a hard team to game-plan for. …
“We’re not the same as we were last year, they’re not the same as they were last year. It’s two teams that are just still trying to figure out who they are at this point in the season, and it’s going to be great football game.”
Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), offensive tackle Morgan Moses (foot) and defensive tackle Christian Barmore (shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday.
New England outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder) and tight end Eli Raridon (thigh) returned to the field on Wednesday as limited participants after sitting out the Patriots’ 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
Bills linebacker Joe Andreessen (knee), cornerback Christian Benford (toe), wide receiver Keon Coleman (ankle) and defensive tackle T.J. Sanders (illness) sat out the team’s Wednesday practice.
