Cam Newton isn’t ready to give his former team credit for the success they’ve had to begin the 2025 season.
During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take following the Patriots’ 27–14 win over the Jets last Thursday—one that brought them to 9–2 on the season—the former NFL MVP said the run New England is currently on is “fool's gold.”
“Cubic zirconia, middle of the mall,” ranted Newton when asked if the AFC now runs through Foxborough. “And yes, is Drake Maye playing good football? Absolutely. And I would like to attest his great play to one specific person that I know too well, Josh McDaniels. Now, Josh McDaniels may not be a great head coach, but he is a brilliant offensive mind.”
“The thing that I have a problem with,” Newton later continued. “Is if you keep playing sorry scrubs, then you’re going to have this falsetto of a mentality going into the playoffs, and it has one-and-done written all over it.”
These are some pretty pointed comments given that not only did Newton play for the Patriots during the 2020 NFL season, but Maye—a North Carolina native—grew up watching the former No. 1 pick during his time with the Panthers.
Maye was asked about the comments on Monday during his weekly radio appearance with WEEI Afternoons in Boston and, in typical Drake Maye fashion, gave a humble and deflecting answer.
"Oh no, I don’t even know what show he’s on," Maye explained. "I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments. So, I just worry about what people in our organization think, and worry about we think and what my teammates think. People are going to have different opinions. I’m just going out there on Sunday and worrying about ourselves."
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was also asked about Newton's remarks, and whether he’d be using them as motivation for his AFC East-leading squad.
“What are we gonna do, put Cam Newton clips up there?" he joked during his weekly appearance on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. “We’d rather put our clips or the Bengals clips. I don’t think that’s even remotely close to how we should inspire our players to play better.”
"Anything that anybody says, we are going to come to work, we’re going to focus on us. We’re going to try to improve, and we’re going to focus on the Bengals, and going on the road, trying to get our 10th win," he also added. "That’s all we’re going to focus on. Whatever it is, people are gonna have something to say, which is great, and they’re entitled to their opinion. What’s most important is what we do here and how we work.”
Is the Patriots’ schedule really that easy?
For what it’s worth, it’s hard to argue that the Patriots haven’t had an easy schedule to begin the 2025 campaign. Given their basement-dwelling finish in last season's AFC East standings, New England was handed the third-easiest slate of opponents to begin the year. Additionally, of their nine wins so far, only three—against the Panthers, Bills and Buccaneers—have come against teams with winning records.
Patriots 2025 Schedule
Firmly in control of their own destiny, New England enters the final leg of the season with the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the AFC.
Matchups with the Bengals, Giants, Bills, Ravens, Jets and Dolphins are all that stand between the Patriots and not only their first postseason appearance since 2021, but also their first division title since 2019.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel Respond to Cam Newton Calling Patriots’ Success ‘Fool’s Gold’.
