Death, taxes, and the Patriots beating up on the Jets.
New England needed just over one half of football in New York on Sunday to completely torch its division rivals—and did so behind an elite performance from its franchise quarterback.
On the afternoon, second-year signal-caller Drake Maye completed 19 of 21 passes for 256 yards and five touchdowns, posted a near-perfect passer rating of 157.0, and added 22 rushing yards on three attempts—averaging a game-best 7.9 yards per carry.
Oh yeah, and the Patriots beat the Jets 42–10 while Maye was pulled for backup Joshua Dobbs with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.
Maye's scores through the air came to five different pass catchers in tight end Austin Hooper, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, tight end Hunter Henry, and wide receiver Efton Chism III.
Drake Maye's final stat line vs. the Jets:
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) December 28, 2025
🏈19-for-21 (90%)
🏈256 yards
🏈5 touchdowns
🏈157.0 RTG
🏈3 carries, 22 yards
MVP? pic.twitter.com/oBWEYVW3HW
In the first half alone, the Patriots’ offense tallied 344 total yards, the most by any team so far this season.
Pretty, pretty good.
Maye entered Week 17 with the second-highest odds to win the NFL MVP award behind only Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. If he can continue on this trajectory, however, the award very well could become his by season's end.
With a win over the Jets on Sunday, New England would improve to 13–3 on the 2025 season, remain in contention for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, and—with a Bills loss to the Eagles later this afternoon—would capture the AFC East title for the first time since 2019.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye Reignited MVP Campaign With Near Perfect Performance vs. Jets.
