FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quarterback Drake Maye and the New England Patriots keep chugging along.
Maye turned in a masterful performance in a 33-15 beatdown of the visiting New York Giants on Monday night, going 24-of-31 for 282 yards, with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions as the Patriots improved to an NFL-best 11-2 heading into their bye week.
«I think he's realizing what he can be and what the impact that he makes on this offense and being our conductor,» coach Mike Vrabel said. «He means a great deal to this football team.»
The Patriots, who have won 10 straight games, next host the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 14 before a road trip to face the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 21.
If the Patriots beat the Bills, they would clinch the AFC East, breaking Buffalo's streak of five straight division titles. The 2019 Patriots were the last team other than the Bills to win the AFC East.
«Bye week is huge. Felt like a long time coming, but we're here, and we have some important football after the bye week,» said Maye, who leads the NFL with 3,412 passing yards and is the only qualified quarterback completing more than 70% of his passes this season (71.5%). «We're looking forward to getting healthy, get some guys back, and make a push.»
What made Monday's victory so impressive was that the Patriots were short-handed in key areas, without starting left tackle Will Campbell (knee) and starting left guard Jared Wilson (ankle), along with two of their top three defensive tackles, Milton Williams (ankle) and Khyiris Tonga (chest), and All-Pro special teamer Brenden Schooler (ankle).
They attacked from the outset, scoring a field goal on their opening drive, getting a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown from Marcus Jones, and then feeding off the
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