Drake vs. Josh: Allen’s Bills, Maye’s Pats battle for AFC East crown
- Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye have the same agents and developed their friendship that way.
- Maye is an NFL MVP candidate in his second season and leads the league in completion percentage and passer rating.
- The Patriots and Bills are set to face off on Sunday, Dec. 14. New England can win the AFC East for the first time since 2019.
- Allen recently broke the record for most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and continues to be a dual-threat danger.
To say Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has mentored New England Patriots second-year signal-caller Drake Maye would be a stretch.
The two share agents through Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the powerhouse representation firm, and the connection has meant they’ve spent plenty of time in the same spaces and even trained alongside each other briefly. The conversations were more about life than football, but “any opportunity I can to help somebody,” Allen said, “I’m willing to do that.”
Comparing the two, despite the obvious physical similarities – tall, right-handed gunslingers who can be equally deadly with their pocket mobility and legs – makes for good media discussion, Maye said. He’d be the first to say he has a long way to go to rival the 2024 NFL MVP. But Maye soon may match him in the hardware department, as the North Carolina product entered the Patriots’ Week 14 bye as the betting favorite to win the award this season.
“But I’m honored,” Maye said. “If that comparison is there with Josh, I’m honored to be compared to a guy like him at his level. I think I’m a far, long ways away from playing like him, and he’s, like I said, the best in the game. I’m looking forward to another matchup when we meet versus him.”
That next meeting is Sunday, Dec. 14. A Patriots victory would give head coach Mike Vrabel’s team its first division title since 2019 in his first season at the helm in New England and snap the Bills’ streak of five consecutive AFC East crowns.
“This is a great stage that we’ve put ourselves on,” Vrabel said.
Riding a 10-game winning streak, New England is in this position in no small part due to Maye’s breakout campaign. Maye led the league in completion percentage (71.5) and passer rating (111.9) entering Week 14.
“He’s playing like a veteran quarterback. He’s seeing things extremely well. He plays at a great pace. It looks like things have slowed down for him. Which, again, we hate to see that, right?” Allen said with a smile. “But I’m happy for how well he’s playing because he’s a great human being on top of being a great football player. Just got to find a way to win on Sunday.”
Allen, who earlier this season broke Cam Newton’s record for most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, is the first player in NFL history with 20 or more passing scores and 10 or more rushing touchdowns in three different seasons (2023-25). He entered the matchup against the Patriots leading all QBs with 487 rushing yards and 12 scores.
His 40-yard touchdown run against the Cincinnati Bengals came with the defense playing man coverage to the degree Allen strolled past a defender who had his back turned to the play. When the Bills faced a third-and-15 later in the game, Allen iced the snowy proceedings with a 17-yard dash for a first down. Suffice to say, Allen’s legs create a myriad of problems for defenses. No defense can call a particular coverage, defense or blitz package against him for the entire game, Vrabel said.
“I think it’s about picking the opportunities and then when you get an opportunity to make a play on him, you’ve got to do everything that you can to get him on the ground, not jump when he pump-fakes, fall down when he stiff-arms you or anything else,” he said.
Vrabel said the mantra of “keeping him in the pocket,” often applied to playmaking quarterbacks, is too simple.
“We can all just stand there, and he’ll do this,” said Vrabel, mimicking Allen’s throwing motion. “You have to just – again, coordinated and relentless is probably the best way to phrase it. Because, again, you say, ‘Well, keep him in the pocket.’ And then guys are just standing there and they’re cautious, and we don’t want to coach that way. We want to make sure that we’re trying to remain aggressive, but certainly sound. When he does extend, then we’re going to need to plaster and have guys be able to come up and help us.’
That is one area of Allen’s game that Maye has certainly paid attention to, is how the Bills quarterback looks off defenders or executes a pump-fake while scrambling to the edge.
“He’s very down to earth. I like to say I’m down to earth,” Maye said Oct. 1. “He’s a great player. Golly, it’s fun watching him. He makes some plays every week that you’re like, ‘Man, that’s pretty cool.’
“Stuff like that, that he’s so good at. From there, he’s great throwing down the field and great at extending plays, moving guys and scramble drill. So, he’s great.”
Maye venerated quarterbacks such as Allen and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers, who he faced in Week 3 (the last time the Pats lost). Facing them as competitors doesn’t completely erase the admiration.
“When you’re playing against these guys that are the best quarterbacks in the league, you want to compete with them,” Maye said. “You want to beat them, and you want to kind of master their level, but at the same time, you still want to take things from them and realize and appreciate what they’re doing for the game, what they’ve done for their careers and the players they are.
“Josh is one of them. He’s fun to watch, and he’s one of the best, if not the best, in the game right now. So, he’s playing at a really high level, and it’s always fun to watch. He’s been good to me, and I appreciate the relationship he’s built with me.”
