Heading into 2026, Maye Already Knows He’ll Need to “Elevate” in Third Season
Drake Maye on 2026: Patriots QB Vows to 'Elevate' His Game After Super Bowl Run
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Coming off the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, quarterback Drake Maye finished battered and bruised, having experienced a season where his team played a total of 17 regular-season games and 4 playoff contests.
It’s been a long year, with a significant amount of wear and tear from the rigors of an extended NFL season.
Maye sounded optimistic last week that his injured shoulder wouldn’t require anything beyond rest, with surgery not sounding like it will be part of his offseason plans. That’s good news, especially given how he looked throwing the football against the Seahawks.
However, one thing Maye noted was that in addition to trying to rest up in the coming months, another thing he’ll be making a priority is going to be trying to push himself to take his game to the next level, knowing that teams are going to be gunning for them next season.
“I think, first off, just what a long journey it is to get to that game,” said Maye last week. “As many bumps or bruises or time you spend or how long it’s filled, it’s worth it when you are in that game, and you have a chance to win the Super Bowl. I think that’s what you do it for.”
“It’s really hard to make it seem like the games behind don’t matter, but that’s really the case when you get to that stage, the games behind, the 20 other games that we played. It felt like the last one was the one that really mattered. I think that’s what you kind of learn about.”
The second-year quarterback certainly finished with an impressive year. He finished first in the NFL in quarterback rating with 113.5, edging out league MVP Matthew Stafford. He also finished fourth in passing yards with 4,394, along with 31 touchdowns (3rd in the NFL) and just 8 interceptions, tied for the 4th lowest total in the league.
In the playoffs, things definitely got tougher down the stretch. He took a couple of big hits in Denver in the AFC Championship, and the weather made things difficult late in that game. In the Super Bowl, it was obvious he wasn’t himself, and Maye was sacked six times. He finished the postseason having been sacked 21 times, far and away more than any other quarterback, as the next closest totals were Matthew Stafford, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, and Sam Darnold, who were sacked just six times total.
But after seeing what he and the Patriots accomplished in 2025, the future certainly feels bright. At the same time, Maye admitted that, having gotten as far as they did this past season, it’s easy to feel like things are fine and that they’ll be in a similar position next season. Yet he’s also aware that 31 other teams will also be spending this current offseason trying to improve and get themselves in the mix to challenge his club next season.
That’s why taking the next step is something Maye says he and his teammates are all going to need to focus on working towards, especially knowing how challenging next season will likely be.
“That’s what you go to work for and improve, and not try to stay the same level,” said Maye. “Coming in the next year and try to act like, ‘Man, we’re here, and we’re fine. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing.’ You got to elevate, and teams are going to be looking at what we did, how we improved so quickly, and how we won the division and won the AFC, and a lot of great things. So teams are going to try to have a bull’s-eye on us to try to stop us. So we got to not try to be complacent and know that the teams are going to be chasing us, and we got to try to chase the Seahawks.”
For now, as Maye pointed out, “it’s only 10 weeks” until they’re back in the building, which will be when everything officially starts over. As excited as he is to get back to work, Maye also said that the first priority is going to be to take a break and spend time with his wife. With this being their first full offseason as a married couple after getting married last June, he’s definitely looking forward to it.
“This offseason, I got a wife now. I got a beautiful wife,” said Maye. “So, I look forward to spending this offseason with my wife. That’s my first thought. That’s going to be the highlight of my offseason, I can tell you that.”
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