The Patriots have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, according to league metrics, and have definitely made the most of it: In Drake Maye's second year under center and coach Mike Vrabel's first year at the helm, New England has gone 13–3 and won their division for the first time since 2019. Maye has even found himself in the conversation for MVP.
But he's not letting his team's so-called cupcake schedule undermine what they have accomplished this season.
“We play in the National Football League,” a very diplomatic Maye told reporters on Wednesday. “Every team's got great players that get paid a lot of money. So it's not like we're playing Foxoboro High School down the road. We [play] on our schedule and we can’t control that and just trying to go out there and win. A lot of these teams that we do play are good and they're in the National Football League for a reason.”
Watch that below:
#Patriots QB Drake Maye on the narrative that they’ve had an “easy” schedule:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2025
“We play in the National Football League. Every team has great players. It’s not like we’re playing Foxborough High School down the road.”
(🎥 @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/PhUkENqDBk
Fair enough.
To close out the regular season, New England will host the 7–9 Dolphins at Gillette. Even better, they’ll have a chance at the AFC’s No. 1 seed if they win and the Broncos lose vs. the Chargers. Whether that positioning is strictly a result of their schedule, well, you can be the judge.
Or, just look at it this way—if you’re salty that your team didn’t make the postseason and want to take it out on the Pats, you can hope they prove they’re not-so-real once the playoffs begin. But if you’re a die-hard that’s dying to prove everyone wrong, you’ll get to shut that ”easy schedule” talk up if and when New England makes a deep run.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye Fires Back at Criticism Around Patriots’ Strength of Schedule.
