"Drake Maye was in Baker Mayfield's head": Colin Cowherd hints Patriots QB rattled Bucs star out of rhythm

Drake Maye pulled off an outstanding performance on Sunday when the New England Patriots played on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sparked by the second-year quarterback, the Patriots sealed a 28-23 win at Raymond James Stadium to move up to an 8-2 record.

On Monday, Colin Cowherd had a strong opinion on how Maye inspired the Patriots to the crucial win over the Buccaneers. Speaking on the “Colin Cowherd Podcast,” the analyst believes the outstanding performance of the Patriots quarterback rattled Baker Mayfield out of rhythm.

“You know what I noticed in this game? This just may be me. But it was almost like Drake Maye was in Baker's head,” Cowherd said (Timestamp: 28:28). “Baker has a lot of confidence, and Drake Maye is just making plays, and he's making big throws, and they take a lead. “It's in Tampa, and it's Baker's house. And Baker was running more than he should run. Baker was doing a little too much to me, running around in the pocket, looking for the big play downfield. Now, Tampa's a big-play offense, but watching that game, watching Drake Maye, I kept asking myself, is New England the best team in the AFC?”

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Maye was not necessarily at his best in the Week 10 game. The quarterback completed 16 of 31 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. However, he was able to make a host of big plays that were crucial to securing the victory for the Patriots.

Drake Maye proud of the Patriots’ team.

Following the win against the Buccaneers on Sunday, Drake Maye expressed his pride in the Patriots’ team. In his postgame press conference, the quarterback described his feelings about how the team fought to get the win against a formidable opponent.

“I'm just so proud of this team,” Maye said. “Just every week we're fighting. Some things aren't going our way. We're handling adversity, battling adversity. Defense is stepping up. What a complete game. That's what we said all week: throw up for 60 minutes. “It was a good football team. We knew if we got up, they were gonna come back and they came marching back. And I was proud of the guys for standing up, especially our defense, the big stop and man, just proud of this team.”

The performance against the Buccaneers elevated Maye to the betting favorite to win the NFL MVP. He became the first player other than reigning MVP Josh Allen to lead the race for the honor this season. This shows how much the quarterback has developed his game from his rookie season in 2024.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf