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You have to feel for the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Bears. These teams have spent decades in QB uncertainty, rotating through young players and placeholders. In contrast, after just five years of searching, the New England Patriots – the after-Brady Patriots – seem to have discovered their man.

Five years. From Brady through Newton, Jones, Zappe, and Maye's rocky start to now: a young quarterback who looks like a elite player and Most Valuable Player contender.

His breakout performance came last week: a road win in Buffalo, where Maye matched throws with the Bills' star and surpassed the current MVP in the final period. But the Saints game on Sunday may have been more remarkable. Fresh off an upset win over the division leaders, a trip to a lousy Saints team had risk of a slump. And the Saints teased an upset. They executed a big play on the first play of the game, before stalling out in the redzone and settling for a three points. It took Maye all of four plays to respond, uncorking a 53-yard pass to DeMario Douglas for the go-ahead score.

Drake Maye goes 53 yards deep to Pop Douglas!

It was Maye in peak form, climbing through the protection to throw a strike deep. From there, he didn’t let up: Maye torched the Saints in every area of the playing surface. His first half was so searing that even North Carolina was forced to tweet. He finished 18 completions on 26 attempts for 261 yards with three scores and zero giveaways. And it might have been better if not for a series of questionable officiating calls.

It was his fifth consecutive outing with over 200 yards and a QB rating above 100. Only the Chiefs' star, the Cowboys' QB, and the Hall of Famer have achieved that at 23 years old or less.

The best quarterbacks convert tough away matches into ho-hum wins. They don’t put the ball in harm’s way, keep the offense chugging and make the decisive throws on crucial downs. The Patriots required all of Maye’s near perfection to narrowly defeat the Saints. They couldn’t run the ball against a strong defensive line. Their defense gave up multiple chunk plays. This was a game that had to be won by Maye’s right arm. And he delivered under fire.

Maye took hits a few times and sacked once, but the pressure he faced was constant. It made no difference. Maye passed all three touchdown passes while pressured, with all three going over 20 yards in the air.

It’s not just the numbers. It’s Maye's demeanor. He’s self-assured and calm in the pocket, scanning options to find open targets. When necessary, he can run and improvise on the ground. As a first-year player, he was a little chaotic, fleeing the pocket at the initial hint of danger. But now, he’s been reminiscent of Brady, conforming to the confines of the scheme and delivering the ball where it needs to go quickly.

For the season, Maye has 10 TD passes, two rushing touchdowns and only two picks. He’s reduced by half his Turnover Worthy Play rate from his debut season, when he was constantly trying to create plays out of broken plays. Currently, he’s picking his moments. He has avoided a TWP in three outings.

Coming out of college, Maye was billed as a big-armed bomber. Evaluators doubted his ability to read complex defenses and operate a complex offense. Overly casual. Overly risky. But the offensive coordinator, in his third stint as Patriots offensive coordinator, has unlocked the entire range of his scheme. Maye isn’t being limited; he’s being relied on. The Patriots are shapeshifting each week again, and Maye is leading the attack like an experienced veteran.

His development has accelerated the Patriots’ timeline. If there were to be sophomore improvement, you imagined it would be a gradual process. There would still exist the highlight throws, while Maye used the season trying to reduce his brain-farts-per-game in half. That would be progress. In contrast, Maye has exceeded expectations. Six matches into his sophomore year, he’s turned into one of the league’s best – and he’s made the Patriots division contenders once more.

Chicago supporters will find solace in witnessing the development of Caleb Williams. But if you’re a Browns or Jets fan, you have to cringe. Because this is the ideal scenario when a franchise quarterback emerges. And for the rest of the league’s quarterback-starved franchises, it’s yet another reminder of how cruel and cyclical this game can be. The Patriots moved from the GOAT to a possible great in half a decade. Certain franchises spend a 25 years looking – and never locate a solution.

Securing a franchise quarterback is about beyond winning games. It alters the identity of a fanbase and organization. For 20 years, the Pats lived the gilded life. But the last few seasons have been about failing to build a transition from Brady to whatever would come next. They’ve found the answer today. Get ready for your New England pals to regain their championship confidence.

Player of the Week

JSN, wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks. Against a tough Jacksonville D, Seattle's sole option was for their QB to look for JSN, constantly. The wideout responded with eight catches for 162 yards and a score on 13 attempts, as the Seahawks edged the Jaguars 20-12. The Seahawks' D set the tone, pressuring Trevor Lawrence and sacking him a season-high seven times. But it was Smith-Njigba who carried the Seattle's attack, accounting for all 117 of the Seahawks’ initial 117 yards through the air. That included a 61-yard touchdown and maybe the nastiest route we’ll see from a receiver all year.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba just beat new Jaguars CB Greg Newsome on his very first snap with his new squad – a 61-yard TD.

Video of the Week

The Miami Dolphins were on the wrong side of another frustrating, late defeat. They took a one-point lead over the Chargers with under a minute remaining, after Tua Tagovailoa found Darren Waller for his fourth score of the year. The Chargers then popped a 40-yard kickoff on the ensuing kickoff. From there, Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey seized control.

WILD PLAY BY HERBERT AND MCCONKEY.

Wow. That is mean. Amazingly, Herbert escaped two defenders, dodging the initial before tossing the other to the ground. He located his target in the short area, who put a Dolphins’ corner on skates to move the ball in range for the game-winning field goal.

It exemplifies the Chargers' year: narrowly winning on the excellence of Herbert and his surrounding playmakers as his offensive line struggles. And it sums up the Miami's D, too: a defensive pressure that struggles to finish and a weak coverage. With the defeat, the Dolphins fell to 1-5. Miserable second-half collapses have become common for the Dolphins. With another rough loss, he’s losing time to save his job.

Stat of the Week

Minus-10. That’s the passing yardage the Jets' QB ended with in the New York Jets' close defeat to the Broncos in London. It’s the lowest in any match since the San Diego Chargers had minus-19 in 1998. Even then, the Chargers had a rookie making his third game. Fields was making his 49th start.

We know what Fields is now: an elite rusher who struggles to read the {passing game|pass