Drake Maye was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills 29-26 in Week 4. Maye threw three touchdown passes and added 54 rushing yards in the game at Highmark Stadium. The award report was published by Pats Pulpit.
Drake Maye AFC Offensive Player of the Week after Patriots’ win
Pats Pulpit reported that Maye received the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor for Week 4. The recognition followed New England’s 29-26 divisional win, which was sealed by a late touchdown. The award places Maye among the conference’s weekly offensive standouts after a performance that helped the Patriots pull off an upset in Buffalo.
The result carried significance in the AFC East standings as well. Buffalo entered the divisional matchup unbeaten, but the loss moved the Bills to 3-1. New England improved to 2-2 after winning at Highmark Stadium, giving Maye’s performance a direct connection to an important early-season road victory.
The report also identifies this as Maye’s second career AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Independent award documentation was not provided with the supplied material, so that detail is attributed to Pats Pulpit. It also places Maye in a notable group in Patriots history: he became the fifth quarterback in franchise history to receive the honor multiple times.
That quarterback group includes Tom Brady, who won the award 30 times, Drew Bledsoe, who won it six times, and Matt Cassel and Tony Eason, who each won it twice. The recognition also connects Maye with former North Carolina players Willie Parker and Alge Crumpler, who are identified in the report as the only other Tar Heels to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice during their careers.
Maye’s passing and rushing numbers against Buffalo
Maye completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns against the Bills. He added 54 rushing yards, which the report described as both a team-high and a season-high. His production therefore came in two parts: he created points through the air while also contributing the most rushing yardage on the Patriots’ offense.
Those figures summarize the performance behind the reported honor: Maye contributed as a passer and runner as New England scored 29 points in the 29-26 result. His 22 completions represented the bulk of the Patriots’ successful passing work, while the three touchdown throws accounted for the team’s passing scores in the game.
The performance was especially notable in the context provided by the report. Maye entered the divisional matchup with one touchdown and seven turnovers on the campaign. Against Buffalo, he was intercepted once and lost a fumble on the lone occasion he was sacked in Orchard Park. Those turnovers were part of the game, but the quarterback still produced three touchdown passes and the late score that put New England ahead.
The supplied report describes the outing as a resurgence at Highmark Stadium. That description reflects the contrast between Maye’s pregame season totals and the impact he had in the Patriots’ upset win. Rather than relying only on passing yardage, New England received a complete statistical contribution from its quarterback, including the season-best rushing total.
Two touchdowns to Romeo Doubs, then the late winner
Two of Maye’s touchdown passes went to Romeo Doubs. The report does not give further play-by-play details about those scoring connections. It does establish, however, that Doubs was responsible for two of Maye’s three touchdown receptions, making the pair a central part of New England’s offensive production.
The third touchdown pass came late, when Maye connected with Efton Chism III for the game-winning touchdown with 1:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. The report says Maye hit Chism’s right glove on the decisive play. That timing made the connection the game’s defining scoring moment because it supplied the points that separated the Patriots from the Bills at the final whistle.
The late touchdown also explains why the 29-26 score remained in focus alongside Maye’s overall numbers. His 269 passing yards and 54 rushing yards show the full scope of his contribution, but the throw to Chism directly changed the outcome in the closing minutes. New England’s victory was not simply a result of accumulating yardage; it included a successful final scoring opportunity against an unbeaten divisional opponent.
Maye’s three touchdown passes were distributed between Doubs and Chism, with Doubs catching two and Chism making the late winning reception. The available report does not provide additional details about the drives or individual play sequence, so the clearest description of the performance is the combination of those three scoring throws, the rushing production and the final-quarter winner.
What Patriots fans can take from the award
The reported award offers fans a game-specific performance to discuss: 269 passing yards, three touchdown passes, 54 rushing yards and a late winning score. One weekly honor recognizes this outing; it does not, by itself, establish a season-wide trend. Still, the award gives a formal measure of how strongly Maye’s Week 4 performance stood out among AFC offensive players.
The context around the honor includes both the opponent and the circumstances. The Patriots won on the road at Highmark Stadium, defeated an unbeaten Bills team and moved their record to 2-2. Maye’s rushing total was both his team’s highest and his season’s highest, while his three touchdown passes gave New England the scoring production it needed to win a close divisional game.
The game also included setbacks. Maye was intercepted once and lost a fumble on the only sack he took, according to the report. That makes the award a reflection of the complete performance rather than a claim that every part of the outing was mistake-free. His response to those difficulties was significant because he continued to produce touchdowns and delivered the decisive pass with 1:50 left.
How do you assess Maye’s performance against Buffalo? Was the late touchdown the defining moment, or did his overall passing and rushing production make the strongest case? Share your view in the comments.
New England’s next game is against the Raiders
The Patriots are scheduled to host the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. The source lists kickoff for 1 p.m. ET. The matchup gives Maye and New England their next opportunity after the Week 4 win, with the AFC Offensive Player of the Week recognition now attached to his performance against Buffalo.
The source identifies Maye as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and a North Carolina product. It also describes him as a reigning second-team All-Pro who paced the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage on the way to Super Bowl LX. Those details provide additional context for the report’s discussion of Maye’s standing, while the immediate focus remains his three-touchdown performance and the Patriots’ divisional upset.
For the original award report and coverage of Maye’s performance, read Pats Pulpit.
