Drake Maye’s night in Chicago came with the kind of stat line that usually travels well, even in a loss.
The former UNC quarterback earned an A- grade from Bleacher Report after his performance on Thursday Night Football against the Chicago Bears, putting together a sharp outing for the New England Patriots in a 30-24 defeat. Maye completed 24 of 31 passes for 321 yards, tossed two touchdown passes, threw one interception and added a rushing touchdown.
New England’s offense got plenty from its young quarterback, but it wasn’t enough to come away with the win. The Patriots fell to 4-3 after the loss, and the defeat also marked their third of the season.
Maye’s rise started long before he reached the NFL. In 30 games at UNC, he piled up 8,018 passing yards with 63 passing touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
He also ran for 1,209 yards and 16 touchdowns. Along the way, he earned 2022 ACC Player of the Year and 2022 ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors, led the conference in passing yards in 2022 and 2023, and topped the ACC in passing touchdowns in 2022.
That college production helped make him the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, with Caleb Williams going No. 1 to the Bears and Jayden Daniels going No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.
Maye has kept producing in New England, too. Through seven games this season, he has thrown for 1,784 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He now has 8,454 passing yards and 59 touchdown passes in the regular season with the Patriots. The ball security issue remains part of the conversation, though, and the source material makes that clear.
The Patriots’ next test comes against the 1-5 Miami Dolphins. The source projects New England to handle that matchup, and says Maye has already carried himself well while leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL campaign.
The shadow of Tom Brady still hangs over anything Patriots-related, of course. Brady won six Super Bowls in New England, and the bar he set is as high as it gets. Even so, Maye has already drawn praise, including the note that he was second in MVP voting last season.
For Tar Heel fans, the last line of the story is simple: the quarterback they watched at UNC is now doing this on Sundays, and the numbers keep getting bigger.
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His point was rooted in the review of Syracuses game-winning two-point conversion, where the available official footage left too much room for doubt from the booth and the ACC Replay Center. Belichick said clips circulating on social media offered better views than what the league had at its disposal, and he pushed for dedicated cameras on the critical lines the way other conferences use them to handle the most important calls. [Read more 🡒]
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What comes next is the part the Tar Heels still need to sort out. UNC's staff is trying to figure out how fast Samodurov can adjust to the college game and where he fits in a frontcourt rotation that will have to account for his size, skill and experience. For a team looking for answers up front, he is an unusual addition: polished enough to raise expectations, but still new enough to leave the biggest questions unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Is Reaching A QB Crossroads Billy Edwards Can't Ignore
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Travis Burgess is the name those questions keep circling back to. The freshman arrived as a highly regarded recruit, and the Tar Heels would be wise to find him some playing time after the Miami game so they can get a clearer read on whether he can be the quarterback of the future. For a program looking to stabilize itself, the next stretch could matter as much for evaluation as it does for the present. [Read more 🡒]