Patriots QB Makes History Against Panthers

The Carolina Panthers were absolutely bulldozed by the New England Patriots in Week 4.

New England beat down on the Panthers in a 42-13 win. Carolina's only scores came on the Panthers' first and final drives. Patriots' new head coach Mike Vrabel also captured his first career home win with New England. But on top of all of that — quarterback Drake Maye had a quarterback rating of 155.6, just a few points away from a perfect score.

Maye finished the day against the Panthers by throwing for two touchdowns and 203 yards (14 completions on 17 attempts). He rushed for an additional 11 on the ground in addition to running for one touchdown.

Sep 28, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) hands the ball off to running back Treveyon Henderson (32) during the first half against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

His performance also earned him a passer rating of over 135.0.

As a result, the signal caller now joins quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen as the only QBs in history to record a 135.0+ passer rating, 1 rushing TD & 1 passing TD (min. 10 pass att.) in multiple games in a season.

Maye's other passer rating over 135.0+ came during the Patriots first win of the year against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 14th. He's also the first New England quarterback since the legendary Tom Brady to have three straight games with a 75% or more completion percentage, 200+ passing yards and two or more passing touchdowns.

.@Patriots QB @DrakeMaye2 has now joined QBs Lamar Jackson (2023-24) & Josh Allen (2024) as the only players in @NFL history to record a 135.0+ passer rating, 1 rushing TD & 1 passing TD (min. 10 pass att.) in multiple games in a season.

His other game came at Miami (9/14/25). pic.twitter.com/705SCa8w5a
— Patriots Communications (@PatriotsComms) September 28, 2025

158.3 is a perfect passer rating, and Maye really came pretty close to that.

Standing at 6'4" and weighing 225 pounds, at only 23 years old, Vrabel is building an offense centered around Maye.

HISTORY: #Patriots QB Drake Maye is just the 3rd quarterback in #NFL history to have a 135.0+ passer rating, a passing TD, & a rushing TD in multiple games in a season.

Maye has done this in four games.

He joins Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen as the only ones to have done it. pic.twitter.com/CB0upEoQIt
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 28, 2025

Though it's worth mentioning that Maye wasn't the only positive storyline of the night; wide receiver Stefon Diggs had 101 receiving yards and Marcus Jones also had a record-breaking performance as a punt returner.

Clearly, the Patriots are focused on building something special.

“We’re going on the road. 8:20 p.m., Sunday night, everybody’s gonna be watching. Everybody’s gonna be watching and I’m kinda excited that they are. That’s how we’re supposed to play. That’s what the expectation is," Vrabel said to his team postgame in the locker room.

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