Drake Maye vs. Tom Brady: Comparing Patriots QB's first Super Bowl run to GOAT's 2002 NFL playoffs

Drake Maye won't be able to shake comparisons to Tom Brady for his entire NFL career with the Patriots. New England finally has its true successor to Brady as its long-term franchise quarterback with Maye having an MVP-caliber season as a No. 3 overall draft pick in Year 2.

Given Maye started every game in his second season and put up much better all-around passing and running stats, what Maye did with his statistics in 2025 vs. Brady back in 2001, taking over for an injured Drew Bledsoe, is no comparison.

The true mark of the Brady era, however, was his playoff performances. His GOAT legacy is tied to what he did in the biggest clutch moments through winning six rings in nine Super Bowl trips for the Patriots.

Maye is trying to match Brady and hoist the Lombardi Trophy with a win over the Seahawks in Super Bowl 60. Here's comparing what Maye has done in the postseason now to what Brady did then, 24 years ago:

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Drake Maye 2026 playoffs vs. Tom Brady 2002 playoffs

Before Super Bowl 60, here's looking at what Maye and Brady did in three games, with Brady's run including the Super Bowl 36 massive upset win over the Rams. Maye's Patriots have outscored their opponents by 28. Brady's Patriots outscored their opponents by only three points. 

Both Maye and Brady lead AFC No. 2 seed Patriots teams in the playoffs. But the 2001-2002 Patriots benefitted from getting a bye into the division round because of the NFL had only six playoff teams per conference. New England has to win four games this time to win the Super Bowl.

When Brady made his AFC run, the Patriots beat the No. 3 Raiders at home and No. 1 Steelers on the road. Maye's Patriots took out the No. 7 Chargers and No. 5 Texans at home before beating the No. 1 Broncos in Denver.

There's no doubt with both his running and more efficient passing, Maye has been more impactful to his team's run. The Patriots scoring 54 points in this year's playoffs seems like a disappointment, despite Maye facing three tough pass defenses and coming up with big plays to clinch all three victories. But then consider Brady's Patriots scored only 60 points in their three games.

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Who had a tougher path to his first Super Bowl, Drake Maye or Tom Brady?

The Patriots went 14-3 in 2025. They were 11-5 in 2001. The Broncos, Texans and Chargers went a combined 37-14 in 2025. The Steelers, Raiders and Rams were a combined 37-11 in 2001. The Raiders were rather weak for a No. 3 seed then. The Patriots now did avoid the No. 3 Jaguars, but the Texans were just as formidable as a No. 5.

Maye beat the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 NFL pass defenses. Brady beat the No. 7, No. 8 and No. 10 NFL pass defenses. Maye played an extra team to get to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks, by the way, present the No. 11 pass defense in Super Bowl 60.

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How Drake Maye can separate from Tom Brady's first playoff run in Super Bowl 60

Brady was named Super Bowl 36 MVP for leading the game-winning field-goal drive against the Rams starting with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter, a foreshadowing of his many epic comebacks. But overall, he went only 16-for-27 passing (59.3 percent) for 145 yards and a TD, averaging only 5.4 yards per attempt and rating a so-so 86.2. He rushed for 3 yards on his only attempt in the game.

The Patriots' real MVPs were cornerbacks Ty Law and Otis Smith, who shut down the Rams' vaunted wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt for much of the game, the manifestation of Bill Belichick's brilliant defensive game plan.

For those criticizing Maye's run, Brady also rode his defense to his first Super Bowl win. If Maye can have a turnover-free game with multiple TDs and some rushing impact in a winning cause, he will match Brady in winning MVP. Maye also then would eave no doubt that he had the better first playoff run than the GOAT.