The Patriots lost in excruciating fashion to a Titans team that had previously won only once in Week 9, and the franchise should be happy with that, because rookie quarterback Drake Maye was fantastic for most of the afternoon.
Sure, his two interceptions weren’t pretty, but he made a litany of other quality plays with his arm and legs all afternoon, and seeing those types of high-level flashes is what every club needs to see, from a quarterback from first year to building confidence in him as he begins his second season. And, heck, with the loss, New England is the current holder of the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft.
In other young quarterback news, back-to-back poor performances by CJ Stroud and Bo Nix took a big hit in the loss to the Ravens. Oh, and Bryce Young had another quality effort!
With Anthony Richardson on the bench and Derek Carr once again starting for the Saints, there were only five quarterbacks selected in the last two NFL Draft classes that saw significant playing time in Week 9. Let’s dig into the individual efforts of each quarterback and assign a grade per snap, taking into account each individual aspect of his performance.
(It took at least 10 attempts to qualify for this article, which is published weekly on Tuesdays.)
Week 9 stats
- 15 of 22 for 209 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
High caliber pitches/plays
- Daniels fired a laser to Noah Brown for 31 yards in the second quarter through layers of coverage.
- Terry McLaurin’s double-play touchdown before the end of the half was perfectly thrown over Deonte Banks.
- He effortlessly missed an outside rusher in the backfield before rushing for 16 yards in the third quarter.
Low caliber pitches/plays
- In the third, he missed a comeback to McLaurin.
Summary: This was as professional a performance as you’ll see from an NFL quarterback, particularly a rookie. Daniels was hardly pressured, got the ball out quickly in most scenarios and wasn’t asked to do much, although there were some impressive plays throughout this road win.
Grade: A-
Season grade: B+
Week 9 stats
- 19 of 33 for 223 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
High caliber pitches/plays
- In the first quarter, Nix threw quality to a deep target on the back of Courtland Sutton’s shoulder.
- Midway through the second, Nix made a nifty 15-yard run up the middle, dodging multiple defenders.
- He showed off his arm strength on a 5-yard completion while floating back and well to his right behind the line.
Low caliber pitches/plays
- On a fourth down in the first half, Nix overthrew a wide-open Troy Franklin on a fade in the front left of the end zone.
- From the Ravens’ 2-yard line, Nix threw a throw to a wide receiver in the back of the end zone that fell incomplete.
- In the third, he missed a deep dig by Sutton.
Summary: Difficult exit for Nix in a difficult environment in Baltimore. While I wouldn’t say he was drastically confused by the Ravens’ coverages all afternoon, his accuracy was below average and he often tried to improvise too much.
Grade: C-
Season grade: C
Week 9 stats
- 22 of 41 for 217 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
High caliber pitches/plays
- In the first quarter, near the sideline, Williams threw a fastball to Rome Odunze for 17 yards.
- On the next play, Williams threw another strike to Odunze through layers of coverage for 15 yards.
- At the end of the first, he placed a perfect ball to Odunze in a corner between several defenders, but he fell.
- Williams performed a classic wrestling drill that ended with a cross-body pass to Odunze in the third quarter.
- He connected with Keenan Allen on fourth-and-4 in the second half near the sideline against tight coverage. Fastball.
Low caliber pitches/plays
- Late in the first, Williams overthrew an open Keenan Allen on a corner route.
- DJ Moore ran the numbers and hit the brakes, and Williams tackled the wide receiver near the end of the third.
- As he rolled to his right, he missed an open Allen near the numbers.
Summary: Williams was under pressure to what seemed like epic proportions in this game, and while he probably could have made a few more checkdowns instead of always going for the home run, but relative to the numbers, I didn’t think Williams played a brutal role. game.
Grade: C
Season grade: C+
Week 9 stats
- 29 of 41 for 206 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 95 rushing yards
High caliber pitches/plays
- On his first putback of the game, Maye passed some defensive linemen before turning on the jets for 26 yards up the middle.
- At the end of the first, he uncorked a perfectly placed pass outside the structure while running, but the ball fell against reasonably tight coverage.
- A few plays later, Maye stayed on his feet through contact on another quality run, this one up the middle, for 18 yards.
- While being sacked in the second, Maye threw a pass to Rhamondre Stevenson that ultimately went for 12 yards. Great awareness.
- While a big hole materialized when he dropped back to pass, Maye again showed off his speed on a 22-yard run in the third.
- The one-handed hurdle was better than the throw, but still early in the third, Maye threw with anticipation and good touch over two inferior defenders to Demario Douglas for 21 yards.
- While rolling right, Maye squeezed a pass into Boutte’s hands against tight 11-yard coverage.
- His game-tying touchdown as time expired was a tremendous streetball play in which Maye reversed his field several times and found Stevenson in the end zone while being tackled behind the line.
- There was a stunning cut in an 11-yard scramble in overtime.
Low caliber pitches/plays
- In the first quarter, he brought down Kayshon Boutte on a deep corner.
- Later in that quarter, Maye didn’t like his first read and fidgeted in the pocket before forcing a pass over the middle that was intercepted. He did not see the thief’s security in the middle of the field.
- With less than four left in the quarter, Maye made a reckless throw to Kendrick Bourne on the wing that was too deep and should have been intercepted.
- A few plays later, while getting into the pocket, he missed Douglas deep down the field.
- His interception in overtime fell short, allowing Hooker to get close to the ball and make the play.
Summary: Maye did a lot in this game. Most of it was good. The two interceptions were classic rookie mistakes. Overall, he demonstrated his arm talent, improvisation ability, and high-level athleticism in this close overtime road loss.
Grade: B+
Season grade: B-
Week 9 stats
- 11 of 30 for 191 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
High caliber pitches/plays
- While falling out of bounds, Stroud found Robert Woods near the sideline for 32 yards against tight coverage.
- He jumped through two would-be tackles in a scramble to gain 12 yards in the second quarter and pick up a first down.
- After eluding defenders to his left, Stroud stepped forward in a crumbling pocket and fired a strike to Tank Dell for 14 yards on a third-and-12 in the red zone with two defensive backs closing in on the throw.
- Stroud made a tremendous throw downfield to Dell while turning left in the fourth quarter for a 50-yard gain.
Low caliber pitches/plays
- On the first, Stroud threw a little late and wide on a throw up the middle to Dell that should have been intercepted.
- As the pocket collapsed around him, Stroud still had room to throw and missed a wide-open John Metchie on a deep pass.
- Before the end of the half, Stroud unnecessarily rushed a check on a running back who jumped toward his intended target.
- While running, he threw away from an open Dell on a third-and-1 in the second half.
- From a clean pocket in the red zone, Stroud opened up Metchie over the middle and simply tackled him. It would have been a go-ahead touchdown.
- He missed Dell on a deep turn at the decisive moment.
Summary: No Nico Collins. No Stefon Diggs. On the road against the Jets on a short week. Those facts must be considered here for Stroud, but I won’t weigh them too much because every quarterback has to deal with deficiencies over the course of a season. And, without a doubt, this was a dismal performance for the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Ball placement and anxious play in the pocket were unusually bad.
Grade: D+
Season grade: B-
Week 9 stats
- 16 of 26 for 171 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
High caliber pitches/plays
- With a defender hitting him in the pocket, Young launched a high, accurate throw to rookie Ja’Tavion Sanders for 15 yards down the left sideline.
- Although he was tackled at the last second, Young drove the ball perfectly into his receiver’s hands deep down the field on a deep pass.
- He bounced off a would-be tackler and ran close to the end zone for a 9-yard gain.
- There was a tremendous over-the-shoulder throw, while running, to Legette that was batted away by the rookie receiver and intercepted. Nothing about Young.
- Young’s last throw of the game, a 26-yard pass to Legette, was made ahead of time and was high enough to go over a bottom linebacker.
Low caliber pitches/plays
- Young was too late on a shot up the middle that could have been intercepted on his first drive.
- He slightly undershot a sideline shot in the second quarter that deflected off the bottom cornerback’s hands and fell incomplete.
- Young rushed a screen to the receiver and the ball was thrown incorrectly down the line of scrimmage.
Summary: Back-to-back positive performances from Young, when the start of his NFL career barely included any of them. He wasn’t sensational in the home win against the lowly Saints, but he did take more decisive and accurate shots more often than ever. Reckless pitches arose occasionally.
Grade: B-
Season grade: C-
Who is the betting favorite to win? NFL Offensive rookie of the year after nine weeks? It seems to be a two man race between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Check out the latest odds at FanDuel.
