Jets fans have been handed an unexpected early-season consolation prize: Drake Maye is looking a lot like Zach Wilson.
The New York Jets and New England Patriots entered 2026 with very different expectations, shaped by their starting quarterbacks and how both teams finished 2025. But after three games, both clubs sit at 1-2, and the bigger surprise is that Geno Smith has been the steadier quarterback while Maye has stumbled hard.
Maye’s line through the first three games is ugly: one touchdown, six interceptions, plus a memorable fumble when an attempted deep ball slipped out of his hands. After New England’s Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, his numbers were starting to resemble those of an all-time Jets bust.
The Patriots have managed only 29 points on 30 drives to open the season, a mark that works out to the lowest points per drive in any team’s first three games since the 2021 Jets. That’s the same Jets team fans remember for Zach Wilson’s brutal opening stretch, which included four interceptions against the Patriots and a shutout loss to the Denver Broncos.
The struggles go beyond just the first three weeks. Since the start of the postseason, Maye has fumbled nine times and thrown 10 interceptions. The last quarterback to reach both of those totals in a seven-game span was Jameis Winston during his 30-touchdown, 30-interception season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019.
The Patriots have had to deal with some personnel issues, including AJ Brown going on injured reserve. Even so, their receiving group is mostly the same as last year, with Romeo Doubs stepping in for Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte in Houston. Doubs is a downgrade, and Boutte is gone, but the overall drop-off should not be massive.
That’s why the criticism that Maye’s production was inflated by a soft schedule keeps hanging around. It was always a little over the top for laughs, but his rough outings against two 2026 playoff teams in Seattle and Jacksonville, along with a strong Pittsburgh defense, are the kind of games that can make people look twice.
Smith, meanwhile, just delivered a sharp outing of his own, going 31-for-37 for 320 yards and three touchdowns against the Detroit Lions. He did it without Adonai Mitchell, Mason Taylor, and Omar Cooper Jr., while Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson both left with injuries during the game.
New England still looks like the better team on paper, with an edge in both roster and coaching. But if these early trends continue, the Jets’ Week 6 trip to Foxborough may wind up being more competitive than it seemed when the schedule came out.
And even if the bigger picture eventually settles back to normal - with Maye likely climbing back toward the elite level he showed last season and Smith drifting closer to the middle of the pack - Jets fans can still enjoy this moment. It’s one of the rare times they get to laugh back at the Patriots.
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