NFL
Drake Maye Drops 5 Touchdowns as Patriots Demolish Raiders 45-17
Drake Maye is not a prospect anymore. He is a problem. The Patriots quarterback went 26 of 34 for 374 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air, then ran one in himself, as New England demolished the Raiders 45-17 on Sunday. It is the second five-touchdown game of his young career, and it was not close from the jump.
The Patriots piled up 536 yards of total offense. That is not a typo. Five hundred thirty-six. The Raiders defense had no answers for anything: not the deep ball, not the intermediate stuff, not Maye tucking it and running. When a quarterback accounts for five scores and the offense never punts in anger, the other team is just trying to survive the clock.
Both teams came in at 3-2 with something to prove, and only one of them showed up. The Patriots look like the real thing in the AFC, with a franchise quarterback playing like a top-five guy at the position right now. The Raiders go back to the drawing board with a defense that just got shredded on national television.
Maye's second career five-touchdown game puts him in rare company for a player his age. The arm talent was never the question. Now the production is matching it, week after week.
What it means
The Patriots have their guy, and the rest of the AFC should be paying attention. Maye is playing with the confidence of a veteran and the physical tools of a superstar. If this is who he is now, New England's ceiling just got a lot higher. The Raiders, meanwhile, have a defense problem that one week of practice is not fixing.
Key Facts
- Final: Patriots 45, Raiders 17.
- Drake Maye: 26 of 34, 374 yards, 4 pass TDs, 1 rushing TD.
- Milestone: Second career 5-touchdown game.
- Team offense: 536 total yards.
- Records: Both teams entered 3-2.
VIA game coverage.