Dave Portnoy backs surprise QB for late NFL MVP run ‘despite the slow start’ to the season

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Dave Portnoy has backed the New England Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye for the NFL MVP award after the 24-year-old’s promising performance against the Miami Dolphins

Miami had a 13-3 lead going into halftime, but the Patriots dominated the second half, scoring all three of their touchdowns in that period and taking a 24-19 win against the Dolphins.

Maye ended the game with 199 passing yards and scored three touchdowns (1 rushing) to help the Patriots turn the game around.

Playing without A.J. Brown, the Patriots’ offence was struggling in the first half, as Maye seemed to not find any answers to the pressure the Dolphins defence was putting on him.

However, he put the team on his back in the second half and made big plays to help the Patriots get over the line.

Dave Portnoy believes Drake Maye is a true MVP candidate

After his slow start to the season, there was a lot of pressure on Drake Maye, as he had finished second in the MVP standings in 2025.

Many questioned his ability and scrutinised his game but the player kept working and results gradually improved.

In eight games for the Patriots, Maye has thrown for 1,983 yards at a 67.1% completion rate. He has thrown 8 interceptions, but 7 of them came in the first 4 games. This shows that Maye has improved as the season has progressed, resulting in Portnoy making a serious admission.

“Drake Maye despite the slow start is a true MVP candidate so great dominating second half got the dub, onward and upward,” said Portnoy in a reaction video to the win right after the game.

He reiterated his point on the Wake Up Barstool show.

“We had nobody in offence and this guy was like Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Randall Cunningham, all combined into a supernova in the second half,” said Portnoy.

While Brown was a major miss for the Patriots, Maye led the offence without his second option wide receiver, Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins. Despite missing these players, Maye managed to do a sensational job against the Dolphins.

Maye’s quarterback counterparts, Brock Purdy and Josh Allen, are leading the way in the NFL MVP race. However, with half the season still left to play, the Patriots QB can still make a major leap in the race.

The Patriots are set to play games against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos in the upcoming weeks. These are all formidable opponents, and if Maye is to get over the hump and win the MVP award, he will have to put in big performances against all these teams.

Read more:

• Patriots legend admits Rob Gronkowski influenced his decision to extend Patriots career
• What Tom Brady noticed about Drake Maye that the Patriots will have ‘loved’
• The seven-figure sum Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated to Donald Trump in 2017

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.