The New England Patriots have spent the first two weeks of the 2026 season getting a pretty clear look at what life can look like against elite defenses. They opened with a Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, followed by a Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the offense never really found its footing in either game.
That’s where Drake Maye’s interception total jumps off the page. He threw three picks against Seattle and added another against Pittsburgh, giving him four interceptions through two weeks. On the surface, that kind of start can make fans uneasy fast.
Still, ESPN’s Mike Reiss argues the Patriots shouldn’t be sounding the alarm yet. “The early surprise: Drake Maye has four interceptions on throws of 15-plus yards.
The verdict: Mirage,” Reiss writes. "...
Part of that is facing the Seahawks and Steelers, two of the NFL's best defenses."
And that’s the heart of it. The Patriots have run straight into two of the league’s toughest units to open the season.
Seattle was the NFL’s best defense a year ago and doesn’t look like it has backed off in 2026. Pittsburgh’s defense has been strong for years, and with T.J.
Watt back to superstardom, that group is rolling again.
That’s a brutal first two weeks for any quarterback, especially one trying to settle in early in a season.
The receiver situation hasn’t helped, either. Maye has been playing mostly without A.J.
Brown, the star wideout acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles for a first-round pick. Brown is out with an ankle issue and is expected to miss at least three more weeks this season.
So while four interceptions in two games is never going to look clean, the context matters here. Maye has been dealing with top-tier defenses and a missing top target, which makes the rocky start easier to explain.
If the turnovers keep piling up against weaker opponents, then the concern becomes real. For now, though, the more likely read is that this is a short-term blip, not the beginning of a turnover problem for Maye.
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One speculative scenario has Pittsburgh sending Porter, DK Metcalf and a 2027 fourth-round pick to Detroit for Jameson Williams and a 2027 first-round pick, a swap that would put plenty of moving parts in play for both sides. It is still just an idea, not an official move, but the fact that Porters name is even part of the conversation shows how aggressively the Steelers may be weighing long-term value against short-term stability. [Read more 🡒]