Drake Maye gets dragged through the mud by NFL fans after horrific game, troubling trend

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

For Drake Maye, that's not a good thing.

The New England Patriots gave up a 10-point lead to Drew Lock and the Seattle Seahawks in Wednesday night's NFL opener, and their star quarterback was, once again, a problem.

A big one.

DRAKE MAYE'S TERRIBLE DECISION GIFTS SEAHAWKS OPENING NIGHT WIN AS PATRIOTS LEFT STUNNED TO START NFL SEASON

Maye, coming off a postseason in which he turned it over eight times in four games, threw three more interceptions Wednesday night, including one of the worst picks you'll ever see on what ended up being the final, back-breaking play of the night for New England.

Lordy. I've watched it a dozen times, and it gets worse each time I press play. Just brutal on so many levels.

Anyone watching the game could smell that one coming, by the way. Maye couldn't connect on a pass down the field all night long, with almost every completion coming at the line of scrimmage.

New England's gameplan was shockingly basic: force-feed Rhamondre Stevenson 18 times for 2.7 yards a carry, and then throw it to ... Rhamondre Stevenson ... in the flat for a gain of 3.

That was it.

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It's become a familiar sight for football fans, dating back to last season's suspect postseason run — after a regular season that was equally suspect given the Pats played one of the easiest schedules in the league.

It's Year 3 for Maye, and, clearly, fans are starting to notice a trend:

I could go on and on. NFL Twitter is a hellscape when you throw up an egg like that. It doesn't help that this was the season opener and fans had eight months of hot takes to get off their chests.

I get it. It's what makes this sport the best in the world. Boston fans love their quarterbacks. They've been begging Drake Maye to be a Tom Brady replacement for three years now. They'll defend him to their last breath.

But last night was completely indefensible.

Maye went 1 of 6 on throws 15+ yards down the field, with three interceptions. That's almost impossible to do as an NFL quarterback — especially one who fans argued should've beaten out Matt Stafford for MVP last season.

The Patriots could never get it going on offense. Maye brutally underthrew A.J. Brown on a flea-flicker in the second quarter — Brown would later get hurt — and the team somehow blew a 10-0 lead to DREW LOCK in the fourth quarter.

The internet was ready to pounce, and Maye served them up a fastball right over the middle.

Obviously, it's just one game. The first game of the season is always weird, by the way. Odd things will happen this weekend that you won't see for the rest of the year. Trust me.

But, unlike last season, the schedule doesn't get any easier for Maye and the Patriots. They get the Steelers, Jags and then Bills over the next three weeks.

Maye will probably be fine.

But this one is worth monitoring.