The New England Patriots' 2025 season was one of the more unique in NFL history, as they actually had the easiest schedule in the NFL since 1999 and ended up winning 14 regular season games, just one year after going 4-13. The Denver Broncos and Patriots both took quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft and have seen their investments pay off big-time thus far.
While neither Bo Nix nor Drake Maye is perfect, both have some very enticing qualities that have helped them become up-and-coming players. The debate, though, with the 2024 class as a whole, seems to not be settled at all.
Nix is honestly at the center of it, as Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels are the two others of note who have had success, but the criticism that Nix gets thrown his way is unfair at times. The stats don't lie, though, as he's had the most successful body of work thus far, and while some might rush to say that Maye is better than Nix, his Week 1 performance proves otherwise.
The Denver Broncos clearly have the better QB following Drake Maye's Week 1 letdown
Maye tossed three fourth quarter interceptions for the Patriots in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and not only can the result of this game help the Broncos out later this year, it continues to display a troubling pattern with Maye, as he's simply not a quarterback who plays well against top competition.
That was the main issue last year, and while the Patriots couldn't necessarily control how easy their schedule was, the talking point of them only being able to beat up on bad teams wasn't inaccurate. On the flip side of this, we did see the Nix-led Broncos notch a series of wins against quality opponents in 2025, and even into the playoffs.
What's even more troulbing about Maye's performances thus far is what he's done in the playoffs. In his four career playoff games, Maye has completed just 58.3 percent of his passes for six touchdowns, four interceptions, a success rate of 35.5 percent, an 82.2 passer rating, and he's taken 21 sacks.
As for Nix, he's completed 57.4 percent of his passes in the playoffs for four touchdowns, one interception, a 42.9 percent success rate, an 89.3 passer rating, and has taken just two sacks. When you compare the performances thus far of both Maye and Nix, it's quite clear that the Broncos signal-caller has held his own much more against tougher competition than Maye has.
What might be the most daming stat of all is that Maye owns an 0-12 regular season record against teams that have a winning record.
While Maye cruised through the 2025 season with eye-popping stats, he did so against bottom-tier competition. It's clear that his second-place MVP finish was probably a bit too much, and it's also clear that Nix is simply the better QB. Nix checks more boxes than Maye, as we've seen the Broncos' passer not fold under pressure as Maye has.
Some might not be ready to definitively say that Nix is a better player, but there is clearly much more to being a successful NFL QB than beating up against bad teams.
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