New England Patriots fans don’t need any more reasons to compare second-year quarterback Drake Maye to franchise savior Tom Brady.
With Thursday’s 27-14 win over the visiting New York Jets, the 9-2 Patriots have now won eight straight as Maye has inserted himself into the MVP discussion.
So, when the 23-year-old North Carolina native tried to stay warm on the frosty Patriots bench by donning the same type of oversized jacket or ‘sideline cape’ preferred by Brady, fans couldn’t help but get nostalgic.
‘It was nice of Tom Brady to leave Drake Maye his oversized coat,’ one fan remarked on X, joining many others in the comparison.
‘This is the exact image I thought of,’ another wrote, adding: ‘lol.’
One hopeful Patriots fan wondered: ‘Maybe it’s giving him powers.’
Drake Maye made fans nostalgic for Brady, not only with his play, but with his sideline cape
A native California, Brady often used the sideline cape to stay warm in frigid Foxborough
Maye’s second season already compares favorably to Brady’s, although that comes with a few caveats.
Most significantly, Brady would lead the underdog Patriots to an unimaginable Super Bowl victory in his second NFL season, so Maye still has some catching up to do on that front.
Also, Brady was a mere backup as a rookie, while Maye started 13 games and came on towards the end of the season.
But those points aside, Brady actually ranked 22nd in completions and yardage in his second season, whereas Maye currently sits at sixth and third in those categories, respectively.
Thursday was just more of the same for Maye, who completed 25 of 34 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown.
If he does have one Achilles heel, it may be his pocket awareness. Maye was sacked by Jets linebacker Jermaine Johnson on Thursday. The quarterback has now been sacked 35 times on the season, more than every passer besides Tennessee rookie Cam Ward.
As for Brady, he took a whopping 41 sacks in 2001.
