Buffalo Bills Might Have Drake Maye Problem Moving Forward

The third-year quarterback appears to play near the top of his game when facing the Bills on the road or at home, and the stats back it up.

Oct. 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye (10) rushes for a big gain during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the Buffalo Bills certainly have plenty of problems within their own team to worry about at this point in time, the current leader in the AFC East through four weeks of the 2026 season appears to have another bugaboo on its hands: New England Patriots’ third-year quarterback Drake Maye.

Although he struggled during the first three weeks of his “junior” campaign through the month of September earlier this fall, Maye quickly reminded everyone on Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium why he was considered by many outside observers to be the odds-on favorite to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award this past winter.

Maye looked magnificent vs. Bills

Oct. 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws a pass during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was dominant for a majority of the divisional contest against Buffalo, and—at least for Sunday—he undoubtedly looked like the better, more confident of the two quarterbacks, which is concerning, to say the least.

Yes, Allen is a former MVP in his own right, but Maye might not be far behind him if his play continues like he displayed against the Bills in Orchard Park this past weekend.

Entering the contest, the one-time North Carolina Tarheels’ star had just a 1-to-7 ratio in terms of his touchdown-to-turnover rate this year, which ranked dead last amongst NFL gunslingers.

Oct. 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) changes a play during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But, then something clicked against Jim Leonhard’s defense this weekend, and Maye went on to complete just a shade under 60% of his attempts for a season-high 269 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to go along with just one interception. He also added a season-high 54 yards rushing on eight carries for an annoyingly impressive average of 6.75 yards per attempt.

Needless to say, it was a stellar performance from Maye, and it’s something that he’s seemingly done quite regularly against the Bills, regardless of their defensive coordinator or scheme.

Maye’s solid showing was nothing new when facing Buffalo’s defense

Dec. 14, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye (10) runs for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the first half at Gillette Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Excluding Week 18 against the Bills in the 2024-2025 season finale where he sat for most of the outing at Gillette Stadium as a rookie, Maye accounted for 247.9 total yards per game (229.6 YPG passing, 28.3 YPG) and four total touchdowns to just two interceptions the last two seasons against Sean McDermott-led defenses.

And, adding in Sunday’s performance against Leonhard’s new 3-4 scheme, Maye’s stats look even better, especially considering he surpassed his previous career-highs against Buffalo in passing touchdowns and rushing yards, while falling just five yards short of setting a new career-high in total passing yards—specifically against the Bills—for the game.

In totality, Maye’s four complete contests against Buffalo following Sunday’s solid showing in Western New York read as follows: 80-of-126 passing for 958 passing yards and a 63.5 completion percentage, 139 rushing yards on 21 attempts for an average of 6.6 yards per carry, seven total touchdowns (five passing, two rushing), and just three interceptions. 

Furthermore, when extrapolating that data, if New England’s young 24-year-old franchise leader only played Buffalo’s defense for a 17-game stretch, then his season totals would reach around 4,072 passing yards, 591 rushing yards, and a total touchdown-to-interception ratio of 30:13. 

Maye might have Bills' number, future could be bleak in AFC East

Oct. 4, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New England Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws a pass during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For fans in and around Foxborough, Massachusetts, those stats are encouraging.

However, for Bills Mafia members . . . Maye’s inexplicable ability to pick apart the defense whenever he’s lined up against Buffalo is a bit disheartening.

And, given that Josh Allen has looked incredibly rough over the past two games, it certainly gives pause to the notion that the Bills can unseat the Patriots atop the AFC East after last year’s unexpected run to the Super Bowl by New England.

Jan. 5, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Bills' quarterback Josh Allen (right) and New England Patriots' quarterback Drake Maye (left) talk on the field before the start of the game at Gillette Stadium. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Now that Maye and Co. are right back in the thick of the divisional race, things could definitely get interesting heading into the months of October, November, and December.

Buffalo and first-year head coach Joe Brady had their shot to quietly keep the Patriots down entering Week 5, but now the Bills' rival has new life . . . and for good reason.

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