New England Patriots sophomore quarterback Drake Maye overcame six sacks â including five at the hands of four-time first-team All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett â to throw for three touchdowns and 282 yards, leading his team to a comfortable 32-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The win extended the resurgent Patriots’ winning streak to five games, raised their AFC East-leading record to 6-2, and firmly established Maye as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL as the 2025 season reaches its mid-point.
Maye now trails only the Los Angeles Chargers Justin Herbert for most passing yards with 2,026, to Herbert’s 2,140. Sunday’s performance vaulted Maye to NFL lead in passer rating 118.7, and his three touchdown tosses rank him in a third place tie with Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions at 15.
There was obviously plenty to celebrate for the streaking Patriots, enjoying what looks to be their best season since 2021 â and best since 2019 if they can manage five wins in their final nine games.
One Patriots Player Facing Fine
But for one Patriots player, the win was tempered with the possibility that he is now facing a fine from the NFL for the second time in four weeks.
With 3:22 remaining in the first quarter, and the Patriots trailing 7-3, New England was forced to punt after a three-and-out on their second drive of the game. Bryce Baringer launched a 48-yard punt, fielded by Gage Larvadain at the Cleveland 19 yard line.
But as he forced the Browns kick returner out of bounds at the 26 yard line, Patriots special teams captain Brenden Schooler was called for allegedly grabbing Larvadain’s face mask.
The flag on Schooler was good for a 15-yard penalty â which came to nothing as the Browns were also forced to punt on their subsequent possession after a three-and-out of their own.
But for Schooler, under regulations set out in the NFL collective bargaining agreement, the face mask violation could result in a fine of $11,593.
Schooler Earlier Escapes Punishment
In the Patriots Week Five victory over the Buffalo Bills, Schooler was also flagged for a finable offense, this time when he was playing his defensive position at safety.
He drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit on Bills receiver Khalil Shakir. But somehow, Schooler’s name did not appear on the NFL’s list of fines for the offense.
The NFL did not announce a reason why it elected to spare Schooler a financial penalty to go with the 15 yards caged to his team as a result of the flag. But league officials review all plays to decide on whether fines are merited â and just as the NFL reserves the right to level a fine even if a violation was not flagged by officials in real time, it may also decide that a penalty called on the field was not severe enough to draw a fine.
Whether that will be the case with Schooler’s penalty against the Browns on Sunday will not be known publicly until next Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern time when the NFL announces all fines for the previous week.
Schooler, an undrafted free agent signed out of Texas by the Patriots in 2022, was named one of only two Pro Bowl selections from New England last year, joining safety Christian Gonzalez.
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