Drake Maye struggles have drawn notice from Buffalo defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard ahead of the Patriots’ Week 4 visit to the Bills. Leonhard said Maye was “going through some stuff and struggling a little bit.” That is Leonhard’s assessment of the quarterback’s early-season play, not an independently established diagnosis.
According to Boston.com, the New England Patriots were 1-2 after three games, and Maye’s early 2026 numbers contrasted with his previous season’s production. Buffalo is the opponent in Week 4, making Leonhard’s comments and the reported statistics relevant context for the upcoming Patriots vs. Bills matchup. The Bills will host New England at Highmark Stadium on Sunday afternoon, where Maye will face a defense led by a coordinator who has studied his recent film.
Leonhard’s remarks combine recognition of Maye’s earlier success with an account of the uneven start. He described the previous season’s regular-season tape as dynamic and said Maye had played at a very high level. His comments do not identify a specific cause for the current numbers, but they make clear that Buffalo is preparing for both the recent struggles and the possibility of Maye producing an explosive play.
Why Jim Leonhard says Drake Maye struggles
Leonhard praised Maye’s play from the previous season before describing his impression of the quarterback’s current stretch. The Bills coordinator’s comments offer an opponent’s perspective; they do not establish why Maye’s numbers have changed or predict how he will perform against Buffalo.
Boston.com also reports Leonhard said Maye remained capable of explosive plays, describing a quarterback who could drop back, reach his top step and “let one rip.” The comment reflects Leonhard’s view of Maye’s potential as Buffalo prepared for the matchup. It does not change the distinction between that assessment and the statistical record reported for the first three games.
Leonhard said Buffalo would need to put pressure on New England and hope the current trend continued, while also noting that great players can eventually come through a difficult stretch. That is a description of the challenge the Bills see, rather than a guarantee about either Maye’s play or the outcome. His assessment recognizes that a quarterback can have concerning recent results and still be capable of a sudden big play.
What Drake Maye’s first three games show
Boston.com reports that Maye completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 585 yards and one touchdown through the first three games of 2026. The report also lists six interceptions and one lost fumble during that span. These figures describe a three-game sample; they do not, by themselves, explain the turnovers or establish their causes.
The Patriots’ reported 1-2 record provides team context, but neither the record nor the statistics determine what will happen in Week 4. Leonhard’s description is an assessment from an opposing coordinator, while the figures are the performance totals Boston.com reports. The combination helps explain why Maye’s start has attracted attention, but it should not be read as a full-season projection.
Boston.com characterizes the early-season change as an unexpected regression. The first three games show a lower completion rate and fewer passing yards and touchdowns than Maye recorded over the prior season, alongside more interceptions in a much shorter period. The length of the samples matters: three games can describe how the season has begun, but they cannot establish how Maye will perform over the rest of the schedule.
How Maye’s reported start compares with last season
Boston.com says Maye finished the previous season with 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing 72 percent of his passes. Those season totals offer context for Leonhard’s contrast between Maye’s previous high level and what he sees now. The source also notes that Maye was the NFL MVP runner-up in 2025, adding to the contrast between the expectations attached to him and the statistics reported after three games this season.
The time periods differ: the 2026 figures cover three games, while the comparison covers the previous season. The table summarizes only the numbers reported by Boston.com and does not project Maye’s production over a full season. The comparison is useful as a snapshot of the change in results, not as proof that the same pattern will continue.
For additional background on his development, see our Drake Maye growth-year-three coverage. The figures in this comparison remain attributed to Boston.com’s report. The different sample sizes are important when reading the table: one row covers a three-game opening stretch, and the other reflects a full season.
Buffalo’s defensive structure and pass rush
Boston.com reports that Maye described Buffalo’s defense as structurally different from its previous approach. That reported difference is relevant to the matchup, but it does not establish that Buffalo’s defense caused Maye’s interceptions or lost fumble. The available figures and comments do not verify a cause for those plays.
Maye said the Bills use some ideas similar to the defense he faced from Denver, while mixing things up with their personnel. He also described Leonhard’s approach as one that makes an offense earn its results and can try to move a quarterback away from plays he considers a strength. Those comments explain why Maye views the defensive structure as a matchup factor, without establishing how it will affect New England on Sunday.
Greg Rousseau also gives the Patriots a specific pass-rush threat to account for. Boston.com reports that the Bills edge rusher had six sacks through his first three games. That total provides context for the Week 4 matchup, but it does not determine how the game will unfold. Leonhard’s stated emphasis on pressure and Rousseau’s reported sack total make the pass rush one element to watch as the Patriots try to respond to their early results.
The broader challenge described in Boston.com’s report includes more than Buffalo’s defense. New England’s offense needs to put up points early and often to keep pace with the Bills’ offense, while the Patriots have dealt with a banged-up wide receiver group and struggles in the run game. The report also points to Maye’s uncharacteristic decision-making and weak throws as concerns so far this season. Those factors add matchup context, but the source does not identify them as explanations for each turnover.
Maye’s previous game in Buffalo as context
Boston.com reports that Maye completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards without a turnover in his previous game at Highmark Stadium. That outing is a reference point for his past performance in Buffalo, not a forecast for the upcoming matchup. It came in a dramatic 23-20 win over the Bills in a Week 5 primetime game.
Leonhard also saw Maye use his legs when needed during New England’s AFC title game victory in Denver last season. That recollection adds another part of the coordinator’s view of Maye: the quarterback has shown he can contribute beyond simply throwing from the pocket. It sits alongside, rather than cancels out, the early-season passing and turnover figures.
The prior result does not establish what will happen in Week 4. The focus now is the upcoming Patriots-Bills game and the challenge posed by Buffalo’s defense, including Rousseau’s reported early sack total. Leonhard has offered his view of Maye’s current play, while the reported statistics provide a separate snapshot of the quarterback’s first three games. Buffalo’s goal, as described by Leonhard, is to apply pressure and try to extend the trend; Maye’s past production and ability to make explosive plays remain part of the preparation.
Statistics, game details and matchup context in this article are attributed to Boston.com’s report by Conor Ryan.
