2025
The 2025 season began with changes in the Patriots' coaching staff with the hiring of new head coach Mike Vrabel and the return of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Vrabel cited the presence of Maye as being one of his reasons for taking the position. During the 2025 season, Maye was given the nickname of "Drake Maye", as Patriots teammates started referring to him as Drake "Drake Maye" Maye. The moniker came from a social media humor fanpage dedicated to Maye, and it became a popular meme.
In Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, Maye completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards, including leading a 37-yard game-winning drive to allow Andrés Borregales to convert a 52-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to win the game 23–20. In Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans, Maye set a franchise record in completion percentage in a regular-season game, completing 21 of 23 passes, a 91.3% completion percentage, overtaking Tom Brady’s 88.5%, while also throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–13 victory. In Week 13 against the New York Giants, Maye completed 24 of 31 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns in the 33–15 victory, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Maye led the Patriots to their first playoff berth since 2021 in a 28–24 Week 16 victory against the Baltimore Ravens, completing 31 of 44 passes for 380 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, including leading an 89-yard drive late in the fourth quarter that ended in a Rhamondre Stevenson rushing touchdown to take the lead. This was the first 300-yard game of Maye's career.
In the 42–10 win in Week 17 against the New York Jets, Maye completed 19 of 21 passes (90.4%) for 256 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, becoming the first NFL quarterback to complete over 90% of his passes while throwing 250 yards and five touchdowns in a game. In this game, Maye had 1.28 EPA (expected points added) per dropback, the highest value on that measure since 2000, as well as a 99.8 QBR, the highest value in that stat's history. Maye finished the 2025 season throwing 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was named to the NFL All-Pro second team. He was also selected for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games for the second time, and for the first time on the initial ballot. He finished second in the voting for Most Valuable Player to Matthew Stafford, finishing with 361 points to Stafford's 366; Maye received 23 first-place votes to Stafford's 24. He was ranked 11th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026.
In the Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Chargers, Maye made his playoff debut, completing 17 of 29 passes for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while also leading the team in rushing with 66 yards in the 16–3 victory. In the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans, Maye completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards with three touchdowns and one interception as the Patriots beat the Texans 28–16, marking the Patriots' first win in the Divisional Round and their first AFC Championship appearance since 2018. In the AFC Championship against the Denver Broncos, Maye completed 10 of 21 passes for only 86 yards due to snowy conditions, but rushed for 65 yards and one touchdown. Maye's rushing touchdown would be the Patriots' only touchdown in the 10–7 win. With the win, the Patriots advanced to Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks, their first Super Bowl appearance in seven seasons. Maye struggled in Super Bowl LX, where he completed 27 of 43 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions (the second returned for a touchdown), was sacked six times, and lost a fumble as the Seahawks won 29–13.
