We caught a glimpse of Maye magic in Week 9.
During a season where there has been little for the New England Patriots faithful to feel optimistic about, enter Drake Maye.
The rocket-armed, athletic signal caller has turned a very vanilla Pats offense into the closest to must-watch since Tom Brady was last at the helm in 2019.
Now Maye and co. will face off against the Chicago Bears and their number one overall pick, quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Pats will win if….
They can get their run game going.
Everybody wants to talk about Drake Maye – myself included.
However right now, despite this being only his fifth start, the offense relies on him to be Superman in order to generate yardage and points.
That has to change in order for the Pats offense to reach its potential.
The Pats’ patchwork offensive line has been porous, producing a ghastly -46 yards before contact since Maye became starter.
They also rank 29th in EPA (Expected Points Added) per running play.
Conversely, the Bears rank 30th in DVOA (Defence-adjusted Value Over Average) against the run and allow 5.0 yards per carry (fifth worst in the league).
So, if the Pats are ever going to get their running game going, it surely must be this week.
The Pats will lose if….
The defence does not stop Chicago’s ground game.
The wild final play of regulation to tie the game against Tennessee last Sunday was a glimpse of how insanely talented Maye is.
However, if the Bears can run the ball against a leaky Pats run defense, which ranks 26th in league in rushing yards allowed per game, they can keep that clock moving and keep Maye on the sideline.
Furthermore, the Pats have only won the time of possession battle in two games this year. It is no surprise they were their only two wins on the season.
This suggests that stopping the run is vital to their success. If they cannot keep Da Bears from pounding the rock, they will likely be staring at their eighth loss of the season!
