Drake Maye's unexpected rise to become the favorite to capture NFL MVP honors was buoyed by Matthew Stafford's uneven play in a Monday Night Football showcase. The second-year New England Patriots quarterback took care of business a day earlier by decimating a woeful New York Jets secondary to the tune of a 90.4% completion rate, 256 passing yards and a career-high five touchdown throws. This provided Pats coach Mike Vrabel with yet another opportunity to give his young signal-caller a commemorative bauble in a triumphant locker room.
New England's 42-10 victory capped a perfect 8-0 road record for the AFC East champions and Vrabel wanted to go all out with his holiday gifting. So he did what very few NFL head coaches ever do and carved out a little arts and craft time for himself.
"It's no secret how I feel about Drake," Vrabel told reporters. "Again, that was a special game ball. That was one that I had constructed that had a lot of tape and paper, and I did arts and crafts on it. That was all our road wins on the ball that I had taped on there. So, he better bring it in here, and he better put it in the quarterback room because I put a lot of time and effort into that thing."
What, exactly, does a "lot of time and effort" in Vrabel's little workshop yield?
Thankfully, there is video.
"I'd said the night before, whoever was the player to gain, they got this special game ball," Vrabel said. "So, it's kind of fitting that Drake had the performance that he had. There were a lot of other really good performances and a lot of guys that helped us contribute, but certainly the day that he had and what he's done so far for us. So, we'll need a lot of those efforts from him to continue. You guys know that, and I anticipate that to happen."
Look, legally speaking what the ball coach made there can be called arts and crafts. Or at the very least arts and crafts adjacent. And really, it's the thought that counts.
The Patriots are not about aesthetics, they are about results. Maye could very well win that MVP award and the lumpy football will still mean more. Even if it doesn't, he's still expected to have it on display just in case Vrabel drops by the quarterback room.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye's MVP Campaign Has Allowed Mike Vrabel to Showcase New Artistic Skill.
