Bedard's Breakdown: Browns game shows Drake Maye's not even close to his ceiling

Sorry for the delay, between the news last night and wanting to double-check my work, got a little behind ...

The good news is Drake Maye did not play well in the first half against the Browns, and it didn't even matter — thanks to a combination of Josh McDaniels, Dillon Gabriel and the Browns being impotent on offense after the first drive, and Maye playing basically a flawless second half half, save for him stubbornly not throwing the ball away with Myles Garrett dragging him down from behind.

That's not only from my grading, but also the score (9-7), regular stats (10 of 16, 1 INT, 4 sacks - 3 that Maye contributed to - and a 71.9 rating), and advanced stats. At halftime, the Patriots' pass success rate was just 45% (hadn't been that low since the end of the Raiders game), and 7.18 yards per dropback (lowest since 6.21 vs. the Steelers). By the end of the game, things were right again in Mayeland as the Patriots' pass success rate finished at 56.7%, and they had 8.76 yards per dropback. That Maye also finished with a 135.8 rating ... yeah, the second half was lights out in every respect.

The first half was a bit of a rock fight, as predicted, against the toughest defense the Maye had seen this season (although they still entered with the 14th pass defense in DVOA). Nothing wrong with that. Maye needed his playcaller to help him a bit in the second half, and that's exactly what happened on the opening drive of the third quarter - McDaniels' masterpiece. Nothing wrong with that either. It's going to happen more than a few times.

If this were a normal QB situation, say with Mac Jones or Jacoby Brissett, I might be concerned because this is the second straight week Maye's decision-making has been a little suspect. In the Titans game, it was leaving the pocket early a handful of times. This time, he might have overcorrected a bit (the kid does learn), and he didn't see some things for the first time in a while, which he seemed to understand on Wednesday.

"I think there's a lot of plays I'm leaving out there that I could play better, and even help this team play better offensively," Maye said. "So, I think I'm just trying to take it week-by-week, and these guys around me are doing a great job helping me out."

Against Carolina, Buffalo and New Orleans, Maye was basically flawless in my grading (to go along with the Miami game). The last two weeks have not been as clean, even if the team results have been there.

Like I said, with some of Maye's predecessors, I'd probably flash a warning sign right about now that Maye is trending in the wrong direction. But I'm not going to do that. Why? Well, McDaniels for one. If Maye or the offense needs something, like to open the second half, McDaniels is finding it. He's had enough time with Maye and this personnel to get dialed into what they can do. This is about where I expected the offense and Maye to make a move, but the QB was ahead of schedule. He probably walked early as a baby, too.

The other is Maye, and the second half he had against the Browns (if it was a different opponent and QB on the other sideline, would it have been different? I can't answer that). The kid learns all the time, from game to game, to half to half. And McDaniels is obviously coaching him hard, which Maye referenced on Wednesday. He's not just looking at the final score and stat line, listening to all the fawning about Maye, and calling it a day. He's grading the film and not letting the small stuff slide.

"I think Coach is challenging me to keep on taking that next step and those little things, moving defenders, using my cadence and things like that," Maye said. "He's really challenging me and coaching me hard to continue to do those things at a high level, and I think I've got a long way to go in that category."

With a player who learns at this rate, who wants to be coached hard, and obviously takes that coaching and applies it immediately, I have almost no fear that we're headed for a Maye slump or anything. Not with that coach and quarterback working together.

Showing my work on the plus/minus plays from the first half, before getting into film, unit ratings and three up/down.

PLUS PLAYS (5)

2-10-NE 42 (13:40) (Shotgun) D.Maye scrambles right end ran ob at CLV 42 for 16 yards (R.Jenkins). 

This was a good scramble with not much down the field as Jared Wilson got walked back by Maliek Collins, plus he outran LB Devin Bush, who isn't slow.

3-5-CLV 19 (10:54) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass short middle to R.Stevenson to CLV 4 for 15 yards (G.Delpit). 

Maye stays with the play this time, despite Myles Garrett tossing Morgan Moses out of the way. 

2-12-CLV 13 (9:08) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass short right to M.Hollins to CLV 7 for 6 yards (M.Harden; D.Ward)

Hollins was covered well, Maye throws a dot from the left hash, and Garrett is about to hit him after tossing Moses again.

3-3-NE 24 (1:16) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep right to D.Douglas to CLV 32 for 44 yards (G.Delpit).

This play is mostly made by Douglas shoving down Grant Delpit (no flag), but Maye deftly avoided pressure and delivered the pass.

3-23-CLV 45 (:29) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep middle to K.Boutte to CLV 24 for 21 yards (R.Jenkins).

Huge play to get them back into field-goal range. Not the greatest of passes (Boutte has to make a twisting catch on a ball behind him), but Maye threw the ball with great anticipation and got the team back in business for a 9-7 lead at the break.

MINUS PLAYS (8.5)

1-10-CLV 24 (12:16) (Shotgun) D.Maye scrambles up the middle to CLV 21 for 3 yards (C.Schwesinger).

The protection was decent, and he had Demario Douglas/Hunter Henry open against zone coverage. Took a pretty good hit at the end. Mike Owenu shares in this knockdown, being beaten by practice squad DT Sam Kamara.

2-8-CLV 8 (9:33) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass incomplete short left to S.Diggs (M.Graham).

Throws behind Diggs at the goal line.

3-8-CLV 8 (9:30) (Shotgun) D.Maye sacked at CLV 18 for -10 yards (M.Garrett).

A few things are at play here, besides Will Campbell getting beaten due to too much space from the chip. Maye ends up at the 18-yard line - 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. That's a little deep. If he's at 7 or 8 yards, I'm not sure he's sacked. Maye holds the ball for 3.54 seconds - you don't have that much time at the 8-yard line. And Hunter Henry is open for a touchdown. 

3-9-NE 41 (13:12) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass short middle intended for S.Diggs INTERCEPTED by C.Schwesinger at NE 41. C.Schwesinger to NE 34 for 7yards (S.Diggs).

This one's pretty evident. Not even sure the ball gets through to Diggs if the linebacker doesn't pick it off. Maye had Henry wide open in the flat after a chip if he wanted him. MINUS-PLUS

1-10-NE 37 (11:22) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass incomplete short right

Maye ends up throwing this away very late after rolling to open space to the right as the line blocked down to the left. Henry and Hooper are both open initially. Boutte is open later in the down. Haven't seen him do this before.

3-5-NE 39 (4:27) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass incomplete deep left to K.Boutte

A rare time when Maye, with a good pocket, misses on a deep pass. And Henry was a good option in the middle against man coverage.

2-8-NE 19 (2:00) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass short left to S.Diggs to NE 24 for 5 yards (T.Campbell) [M.Collins].

Holds the ball a while and ends up taking a shot at the end. Henry and Douglas were wide open in structure. Held the ball too long.

2-10-CLV 32 (1:00) (Shotgun) D.Maye sacked at CLV 40 for -8 yards (M.Garrett). FUMBLES (M.Garrett) [M.Garrett], recovered by NE-J.Wilson at CLV 40.

Mack Hollins is wide open for a shot-play touchdown as the Patriots max protect with Henry and Stevenson chipping to join the 3-man route late. Not sure why Maye didn't throw it. He held the ball for 3.77 seconds and fumbled. Unnecessary sack.

__________________

For most quarterbacks, this probably would have continued through the rest of the game, and the Patriots would have survived with a close victory. But with Josh McDaniels scheming up the first touchdown drive, Maye settled into the game better and played a sterling second half with 5.5 plus plays - the extra being on the Boutte touchdown (the only minus play in the second half was Maye not just throwing the ball away when Garrett dragged him down from behind). McDaniels also helped out his QB by scheming up all three touchdowns in the third quarter (Henry was wide open, Diggs was a simple rub from Hollins, Boutte shot play - when McDaniels predicted what was going to happen).

The Browns have a good defense. Sometimes it's not always going to be rainbows and butterflies from the quarterback, even with Maye playing like he has. But for him to be unflappable, for his coordinator to give him a boost, and play much better in the second half, that's good stuff.

Maye ended up with good stats, but he didn't even play great in the first half. And then he had that second half. That's big-time trouble for the rest of the league.

Here are the positional ratings against the Browns:

OFFENSE

Quarterback (3 out of 5)

First half: OK. Second half: lights out. Pressure is a QB stat at times as well, and this was a game where he contributed. No way the Browns should have had six sacks in this game. Two, maybe three.

Running backs (3.5 out of 5)

Would have been pretty good without the TreVeyon Henderson fumble and half run stuff when he tried to bounce an inside run and failed. But those were my only issues with this group, even Henderson had a solid pass pro rep. Henderson showed the burst thanks to McDaniels scheming around the Browns' wide-9 alignment where most teams take the cheese to run inside, where the linebackers slam the line. ... Hopefully the start of good things for Henderson. ... Stevenson was also very solid and really liked how calm he was on the throwback. He threw with great timing and that play could have been a disaster. ... Even Terrell Jennings (11-yard run) and Jack Westover (plus run block) got into the flow.

Receivers (3 out of 5)

There was mostly good, and a few tough reps for everybody in this group. ... Mack Hollins broke out with a couple of big plays and a great rub on Stefon Diggs' touchdown, was mostly solid in the run game, but also had two poor run blocks. ... Diggs had offsetting pass interference calls, and Douglas probably should have been flagged for a push on his 44-yard reception where he looked like a drunken sailor at the end (just go straight Pop). ... Kayshon Boutte had a couple of killer routes, including on his TD, and showed great body control on the pass before halftime. Also had a drop. ... Hunter Henry had an easy touchdown, whiffed on his chip on Maye's interception, and a false start. ... Nice route and timing between Maye and Hooper on the 31-yarder.

Offensive line (3 out of 5)

Some of you might think me saying Maye didn't play great in the first half is a strange opinion, but how about this one: psst, Will Campbell graded out well for me in this game, despite having a hand in three sacks. But I only had him for one minus run block other than that, and four plus blocks (three runs). ... Everybody else had their share of issues in this game, including Morgan Moses, who Garrett tossed out the club more than a few times. Didn't know that could happen to Moses. ...

DEFENSE

Defensive line (5 out of 5)

I'm running out of superlatives for this group. Kudos to line coach Clint McMillan and outside linebackers coach Matt Smith. The dudes up front were a +30/-2 in this game. I haven't seen this since the Patriots' defense was humming under Bill Belichick. ... The only underwhelming this was that Harold Landry (two hurries, both in the second half) was really quiet. ... Khyiris Tonga was on a heater before his knee injury, including on the first play of the game. ... Milton Williams just rolls along, ho-hum, with a hurry that caused Robert Spillane's interception. ... I think Christian Barmore was motivated by his benching. He balled out after that. 

Linebackers (4 out of 5)

Robert Spillane almost had a showcase game, but I think — I'm not sure — he busted the coverage on the Browns' TD, and he whiffed on a missed tackle that went for 21 yards. ... Jahlani Tavai was very solid, but I can do without Jack Gibbens and invisible Christian Elliss. He played 39 snaps? ... Marte Mapu played one snap, played off coverage by about 10 yards, got picked and never played on defense again.

Secondary (3 out of 5)

Strong games from Marcus Jones and Christian Gonzalez against subpar competition. Jones did miss a couple of tackles, and busted a coverage on a 20-yard pass when he was in man and everyone else was playing zone. But both players were very strong tackling. ... Craig Woodson missed a tackle and gave up another passing touchdown to a tight end. Kyle Dugger can do that!

THREE UP

DT Christian Barmore: Sat out the first quarter and still led the team with 8 impactful plays and 4.5 QB pressures. Fire lit.

WR Kayshon Boutte: His rating is never great because he plays a crapton of snaps, but he had some great routes in this game.

DT Khyiris Tonga: If he didn't leave with a knee injury, he was going to win this going away.

FOUR DOWN

RG Mike Onwenu: Led the team in pressures allowed, and he didn't even have the toughest matchup.

LG Jared Wilson: Next up in pressures, but at least he had the excuse of seeing Maliek Collins most of the game.

S Craig Woodson: Teams are going to keep going after him in coverage.

P Bryce Baringer: Hit a 61-yard punt for a touchback that wasn't even close, and had a 35-foot shank.