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It's hard not to sympathize with the Browns, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears. Those franchises have spent decades in QB uncertainty, rotating through young players and placeholders. In contrast, after just five years of searching, the Patriots – the after-Brady Patriots – seem to have discovered their man.

Five years. From Brady to Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Bailey Zappe to Maye’s first choppy season to this: a young quarterback who looks like a top-five starter and MVP candidate.

His breakout performance came last week: a road win in Orchard Park, where Maye went throw-for-throw with the Bills' star and outplayed the current MVP in the fourth quarter. But the Saints game on Sunday may have been more remarkable. Fresh off an upset win over the division favorites, a visit to a struggling Saints squad had potential for a letdown. And the Saints threatened early. They ripped off a large gain 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 deep ball to DeMario Douglas for the go-ahead touchdown.

Drake Maye connects with Pop Douglas on a 53-yard bomb!

It was Maye in peak form, navigating the protection to throw a strike deep. From there, he kept pushing: Maye torched the Saints in all parts of the playing surface. His opening two quarters was so impressive that even North Carolina was forced to tweet. He finished 18-of-26 for 261 yards with three scores and no turnovers. And it could have been more if not for a series of debatable referee decisions.

It was his fifth straight game with at least 200 yards and a passer rating above 100. Only Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, and Dan Marino have ever done that at age 23 or younger.

The best quarterbacks turn difficult road games into ho-hum wins. They don’t put the ball in harm’s way, keep the offense chugging and deliver key passes on crucial downs. The Patriots needed every bit of Maye’s near perfection to squeeze by the Saints. They couldn’t run the ball against a strong defensive line. Their defense gave up multiple chunk plays. This was a contest decided by Maye's passing. And he delivered under fire.

Maye was hit a several times and sacked once, but the pressure he faced was constant. It didn’t matter. Maye threw all three scoring throws while pressured, with all three going over 20 yards in the air.

It's beyond statistics. It’s Maye's demeanor. He’s self-assured and calm in the protection, bouncing through reads to locate receivers. When needed, he can take off and improvise on the ground. As a first-year player, he was a somewhat erratic, fleeing the pocket at the first sign of trouble. But now, he’s been reminiscent of Brady, adapting to the structure of the scheme and getting the ball where it needs to go in a hurry.

This year, Maye has 10 passing touchdowns, two running scores and just two interceptions. He’s reduced by half his Turnover Worthy Play rate from his debut season, when he was constantly trying to create plays out of failed schemes. Now, he’s picking his moments. He has avoided a TWP in three outings.

Coming out of college, Maye was billed as a strong-armed passer. Evaluators doubted his capacity to process sophisticated coverages and operate a complex offense. Too loose. Overly risky. But the offensive coordinator, in his third stint as New England's OC, has unlocked the full breadth of his playbook. Maye isn’t being limited; he’s being trusted. The Patriots are evolving weekly again, and Maye is leading the attack like an eight-year vet.

His growth has accelerated the Patriots' schedule. If there were to be sophomore improvement, you imagined it would be a slow burn. There would still exist the spectacular passes, while Maye used the season trying to reduce his brain-farts-per-game in half. That would be progress. In contrast, Maye has exceeded predictions. Six matches into his sophomore year, he’s turned into one of the NFL's top players – and he’s transformed the Patriots into division contenders once more.

Bears fans will take some comfort in witnessing the development of their rookie QB. But if you’re a Browns or Jets fan, you have to wince. Because this is the ideal scenario when a franchise quarterback emerges. And for the rest of the league’s quarterback-starved franchises, it’s another example of how harsh and repetitive this game can be. The Patriots went from the greatest of all time to a possible great in five years. Certain franchises spend a quarter of a century looking – and never locate anyone.

Finding a franchise quarterback is about more than victories. It changes the identity of a fanbase and organization. For 20 years, the Patriots enjoyed the gilded life. But the recent years have been about failing to build a transition from Tom Brady to the next era. They’ve found the answer today. Get ready for your Masshole friends to regain their Brady-era bluster.

Player of the Week

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle. Against a stifling Jaguars defense, Seattle's sole option was for Sam Darnold to target Smith-Njigba, constantly. The wideout answered with eight catches for over 150 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts, as the Seahawks snuck past the Jags by eight points. Seattle’s defense set the tone, hounding the Jaguars' QB and dropping him a season-high seven times. But it was Smith-Njigba who supported the Seahawks’ offense, accounting for all 117 of the Seahawks’ initial 117 yards through the air. That included a 61-yard touchdown and perhaps the best route we’ll see from a pass-catcher all year.

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

Highlight of the Week

The Miami Dolphins were on the losing end of yet another frustrating, late defeat. They gained a narrow lead over the Chargers with under a minute remaining, after their QB found his tight end for his fourth score of the season. The Chargers then popped a 40-yard kickoff on the following kick. From there, the Chargers' QB and Ladd McConkey seized control.

WILD PLAY BY HERBERT AND MCCONKEY.

Wow. That is brutal. Amazingly, Herbert escaped two oncoming pass-rushers, slipping past the first before tossing the other to the deck. He located McConkey in the short area, who put a Dolphins’ corner on skates to move the ball in position for the winning field goal.

It sums up the Chargers’ season: squeaking by on the excellence of Herbert and his surrounding playmakers as his offensive line struggles. And it sums up the Dolphins’ defense, too: a pass-rush that struggles to finish and a floundering secondary. With the defeat, the Dolphins dropped to 1-5. Painful late-game failures have become standard for Mike McDaniel’s team. With another rough loss, he’s running out of time to keep his position.

Stat of the Week

Minus-10. That’s the net passing yards Justin Fields finished with in the Jets’ close defeat to the Broncos in London. It’s the lowest in any match since the San Diego Chargers had negative 19 in 1998. Even then, the Chargers started a rookie making his third game. Fields was in his 49th.

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