Buccaneers could have one huge advantage over Patriots' Drake Maye

It's hard to find any weakness in New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's game so far this year, but that's exactly what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to have to do when they face off against him on Sunday.

Maye has largely been indomitable as a quarterback in all scenarios — per SumerSports, he's fourth in EPA/dropback against the blitz, second on deep ball throws and top six against both man and zone coverage. There's a decent argument that he's the NFL's leading MVP candidate, and through his prowess, the Patriots are 7-2 and field a top-10 offense in points per game.

That being said, Maye is a second-year quarterback, and there's one thing he hasn't seen — Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, who calls the Bucs' formidable defense. Bowles' defensive philosophy differs from almost every other defensive playcaller in the league, and he could be Tampa Bay's secret weapon on Sunday.

Drake Maye hasn't faced anyone like Buccaneers' Todd Bowles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles on the sidelines during the first half of a game against the Seattle Seahawks | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Bowles' defense is vaunted for how many different looks it presents. Often based on a philosophy of getting pressure with four and then blitzing a random fifth member of the defense, Bowles has switched up coverages and personnel to bring the heat with numerous different players — so far this year, 15 Bucs players have at least half a sack or more, with every position on the field netting at least one.

Maye has been sacked 34 times so far this season, the second-highest number in the NFL. Todd Bowles' Buccaneers blitz the fifth-most often of any NFL team at 30.8%, and per SumerSports, Maye has a 23.0% pressure-to-sack rate — that's 35th out of 36 qualified quarterbacks. Maye takes care of the ball under pressure, but he eats sacks often, and Bowles is likely to give him pressure looks he has never seen before at the NFL level.

ESPN's Dan Orvlosky, when discussing Sunday's upcoming matchup, pinpointed that lack of experience when discussing Maye's upcoming challenge.

“This will be the biggest challenge Drake Maye has faced in his NFL career. This defense, number one, very good against the run. Then two, it makes you constantly think. They’re constantly changing the question on you – pre-snap to post-snap," Orvlosky said. "‘This pressure is coming from here. This guy is dropping from here. This coverage is rotating that way.’ He hasn’t really seen that. So we’re going to know a lot more about Drake Maye – just as far as how, how, how good, after this week.”

On @GetUpESPN, analyst @danorlovsky7 previewed Sunday’s Patriots-Buccaneers matchup:

“This will be the biggest challenge Drake Maye has faced in his NFL career. This defense, No. 1, very good against the run. Then 2, it makes you constantly think. They’re constantly changing… pic.twitter.com/gbI1TONivf
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 6, 2025

Maye has been playing at an elite level in the NFL this year, but he has yet to experience just how chaotic Todd Bowles' defense truly is. And if the Buccaneers want to defeat Maye, they'll want to keep him in the pocket and bring him down, because as Todd Bowles said on Wednesday, Maye is also dangerous when he runs.

“[He has] great legs – he really has a knack for finding the hole to run in. At the same time, [he has] great touch on the ball, great arm strength, a great feel for the game – understanding where his guys are. I think Josh [McDaniels] has done a great job getting him ready to play and understanding how he has to play and executing for him," Bowles said.

The Bucs and the Patriots play each other at 1 p.m. in Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

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