The New England Patriots fell back to Earth with their toughest loss of the season. It wasn’t just that they couldn’t afford to lose to the Buffalo Bills, their main divisional rival, but blowing a 21-point lead also raised questions about their status as true contenders.
The Patriots had dominated with one of the easiest schedules in the league. They even took down the Bills in their first meeting of the season, and they looked poised to make a statement again on Sunday before Josh Allen went berserk in the second half.
More than that, that loss may have also cost Drake Maye a shot at MVP. When asked about the game, however, he only talked about how bouncing back from this setback will be the actual challenge now:
“Move on to next week and learn from it," Maye said, per NFL.com. "It was a long stretch where we were feeling good about ourselves. Now it's about responding from losing to a good team."
Drake Maye’s MVP chance took a hit, but he can still win
Josh Allen made a statement and proved to be the best quarterback in the league right now. He made big play after big play with a three-touchdown performance to bring his team back to seal a 35-31 win. Even so, Maye still has a chance to win MVP.
The Pats are still in control of their destiny, and at 11-3, they can be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the AFC. They will close out the season by facing the Baltimore Ravens before back-to-back matchups with eliminated divisional rivals, the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. At worst, they should be able to win two of those games.
Drake Maye is leading the league with a completion percentage of 70.9 percent. He has thrown for 3,567 yards and 23 touchdowns to go along with just seven interceptions and a passer rating of 109.1. He also has 362 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.
Of course, Allen’s numbers aren’t half bad, either. He’s thrown for 3,276 yards, 25 touchdowns, and ten picks while completing 70 percent of his passes, all while also logging 535 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Allen’s numbers are slightly better, and he’s the reigning MVP and one of the faces of the league.
But if Maye leads the Patriots to a 14-win season after winning just four games last year, it’ll be almost impossible not to give him the award.