FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Maye’s day: The Patriots’ 2025 season got off to a disappointing start, with quarterback Drake Maye & Co. sputtering in the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders. How Maye and the team respond in Sunday’s game against the host Miami Dolphins (1 p.m. ET, CBS) will further reveal what type of squad coach Mike Vrabel has
Arguably one of the most important and complex questions surrounding the team is: What is a fair expectation for Maye at this point?
Maye finished 30-of-46 for 287 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the Week 1 loss to the Raiders, which established a career high for completions and yards. But by most accounts, including from Maye himself, it wasn’t his ‘A’ game. What seemed to bother him most was a handful of throws he believed he should have completed.
“Particularly ones where I feel like I had guys open,” he said. “Accuracy is one of the biggest things at quarterback, so being accurate is what I take pride in, and you can’t miss open guys.”
It happened on the third offensive play when he airmailed receiver DeMario “Pop” Douglas on the sideline. He later was off the mark to Douglas in the end zone, as well as to tight end Hunter Henry, who was sitting in a gaping hole in a zone on the first offensive play after Maye’s lone interception when he was hit as he threw. Those were balanced against some high-level plays in which he displayed poise in the pocket — to Henry and receivers Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs — in a reminder of the promise that led Maye to be selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft.
The mixed-bag performance ignited a debate about the 23-year-old Maye and if he had too much on his plate, which head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t immediately extinguish when asked.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels seemed shocked it was a point of discussion.
“You have to understand it’s his first game in our system,” McDaniels said. “I thought he made a lot of good plays, a lot of good decisions. I’m focused, really, on the process of him getting better every day because I think the view of it is it has to be a long-term vision of where this guy is going to be. He’s going to be a really good player.”
One NFL general manager said last week that it reminded him, in part, of some of the early-career conversation surrounding Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. It is easy to forget, but Allen had some growing pains that included completing just 52.8% and 58.8% of his passes in his first two seasons. The GM wasn’t comparing Maye to Allen but instead acknowledging that it often takes time for quarterbacks to develop and hit their peak.
When asked what areas he believed Maye needed to focus most on, McDaniels said: “I’m the global view with him. … The biggest thing for me, he’s a young quarterback. He’s learning through all these experiences. He’s the right guy. We’re going to have an opportunity to continue to grow and improve and get better.”
Seventh-year center Garrett Bradbury, who is in his first season in New England, remains one of Maye’s biggest boosters.
“I’ve been really around two quarterbacks, Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold, and those weren’t young guys. So I’m impressed. His personality, I think he can connect with everyone in the locker room. Football aside, he’s a fun guy to be around. Competitive. Sense of humor. Football side, he works his butt off,” Bradbury said.
“So it was kind of mentioned, [the] ‘we want results, results, results’ [culture] — he knows that, especially at that position at this level. He signed up for that when he started playing quarterback. I think something he doesn’t lack is self-awareness, in terms of what his job is, what he expects of himself. But at the same time, you’re not going to have it all figured out. As soon as you think you do, you’re dead, getting passed up.”
Bradbury added that one of his favorite parts of the NFL season is enduring the highs and lows with teammates and he credited Maye for “firing the boys up” in Wednesday’s practice.
“It’s the daily grind. I like doing it with not only guys you like, but you want to go to war with,” he said.
2. JMac’s view: Former Patriots defensive back Jason McCourty, who also spent one season with the Dolphins, is part of the CBS crew broadcasting Sunday’s game alongside Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analysis) and AJ Ross (sideline).
His top storylines after Week 1 film review: “How the Patriots decide to defend this Miami offense. Last week, they played a lot of man and blitzed [Raiders quarterback] Geno Smith. If you look at how Vrabel’s Titans teams attacked, it was very different — they didn’t blitz as much and played with two high safeties the majority of the game. Offensively, how do they get explosive plays? Do we see more of [TreVeyon] Henderson? Is Diggs the next option that’s going to show up behind Boutte?”
3. ‘X’ plays: The Patriots’ defense allowed nine plays of 20 yards or more in the season-opening loss, which over the last week had coaches and players repeating the phrase “X plays” — a shortened football reference for “explosives.”
Safeties coach Scott Booker said that has been a key target entering Sunday’s game against the Dolphins’ timing-based offense that can score quickly with its speed.
“You’re not going win a lot of games giving up nine ‘X’ plays in a game. It wasn’t like there was one specific thing, it was more of a culmination of maybe just one guy not doing his job, or maybe one guy out of place,” Booker said. “So what we tried to do this week was tighten it up; that as a coaching staff we were clear on what we want to do, and I feel like the guys responded well.”
4. Vertical Boutte: Boutte’s nine targets in the season opener were a career high, and according to ESPN Research, 24 of his 40 routes were vertical.
That is an area the Dolphins were vulnerable in their 33-8 season-opening loss to the Colts, as Indianapolis receivers were 5-of-6 for 113 yards and a touchdown on vertical routes against a secondary that includes former New England cornerback Jack Jones.
“I think people fail to realize that at one point in time I was a first-round pick.”
WR Kayshon Boutte, on Monday to @_KhariThompson, after totaling 6 receptions for 103 yards in a top individual performance in the Patriots’ season-opening loss pic.twitter.com/vceL5arBs1
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 8, 2025
5. LSU’s Campbell: If you notice some purple and gold underneath Patriots first-round pick Will Campbell‘s jersey, those are his shoulder pads from Louisiana State. Campbell, the No. 4 pick who played every snap at left tackle in his NFL debut, says it’s all about comfort.
Likewise, Boutte still has his purple and gold shoulder pads from LSU in his locker but no longer wears them in his third NFL season because he’s found less bulkier shoulder pads he now prefers.
6. Gonzo’s status: The question many are asking: “What is going on with Christian Gonzalez?”
The second-team All-Pro cornerback injured his hamstring July 28, hasn’t practiced since and has been ruled out Sunday for the second week in a row. Vrabel generally avoids talking about injuries, but at one point earlier this month began to hint that things haven’t progressed as hoped before catching himself.
Vrabel praised Gonzalez for being engaged, which included being on both road trips in the preseason and watching the season opener on the sideline, and also said he looks for three things before a player returns: Can he do the job with confidence, protect himself and avoid making it any worse.
7. Henry’s rise: Henry (4 catches, 66 yards in the opener) needs five receiving yards to pass Benjamin Watson into fourth place among tight ends in Patriots history (2,271) and five receptions to pass Russ Francis into fourth place (203).
The production reflects his consistency since joining New England as a free agent in March 2021 — he’s played in 65 of a possible 69 regular-season games — and also the chemistry he’s built with Maye on and off the field.
Maye referred to Henry as “one of my best friends on the team” and someone whose love of the game stands out.
8. Pees’ influence: Booker’s presence as safeties coach serves up a reminder of how former Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees’ impact is still felt around the Patriots.
Pees, of course, coached Vrabel in New England (2004 to 2008) and later served as Vrabel’s defensive coordinator with the Titans. But before that, while serving as Kent State head coach, Pees recruited Booker to the school in 1999 and later hired him there as a graduate assistant. Booker, 44, called the 74-year-old Pees — who is retired and recently visited Patriots practice — an important role model in his life.
9. Borregales’ debut: Rookie kicker Andy Borregales returns to Hard Rock Stadium this weekend, a place he’s familiar with from his career at the University of Miami (which plays there).
Borregales’ NFL career got off to a shaky start last Sunday when he missed a 40-yard field goal in the second quarter, but he made field goals of 35 and 44 yards in the second half and also had an extra point.
Special teams coach Jeremy Springer traced the miss to foot placement, while noting how he responded to the adversity by making his next two attempts. “I think with him, it’s can we get the consistency. He’s working at it, doing a great job,” Springer said.
10. Did you know? Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa is 7-0 all time against the Patriots, and with a win Sunday, will join John Elway (Broncos) as the second quarterback to win each of his first eight games against New England.
