Drake Maye channels Cam Newton as Patriots blow out Panthers, 42-13
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Drake Maye led Patriots to 42-13 victory, outdueling Panthers' Bryce Young.
- Maye, who’s from N.C., honored Cam Newton with a Superman celebration after touchdown.
- Patriots avoided turnovers; Maye posted 155.6 passer rating with 3 total scores.
There was only one Superman on the field Sunday in Massachusetts. And it sure wasn’t anybody from the Carolina Panthers.
Drake Maye, whose roots in North Carolina are as deep as an oak tree, led the New England Patriots to a 42-13 rout over the Panthers on Sunday. And after scoring a 5-yard rushing touchdown himself in the second quarter, Maye paid homage to his favorite Panthers player. Maye channeled his inner Cam Newton by doing Newton’s old “Superman” celebration after scoring. Maye explained why afterward.
“I don’t show much emotion out there,” Maye said of his general demeanor on the field. “Probably need to show more. ... It’s a fun-loving position. I think he (Newton) played the position in a different way than a lot of people do, and the guys around him rallied around him. ... He was my favorite player growing up. So, pretty cool.”
It was indeed pretty cool, and the Panthers’ players didn’t seem to take a lot of offense to Maye’s brief celebration. They were angrier with themselves for simply allowing that touchdown, as well as five others, in the most thorough beating they have absorbed this season.
Said Panthers safety Nick Scott of Maye’s celebration: “Guys are entitled to celebrate however they want to. Cam Newton played for the Patriots as well. So maybe he’s giving a tribute to his guy.”
Maye was indeed paying tribute to Newton, but more like the Panthers version. The Maye family owned Panthers season tickets for years.
Mark and Aimee Maye’s four athletic sons all grew up in the Charlotte area (Drake, at 6-foot-4, is actually the shortest of them). Mark started at quarterback for UNC in the 1980s, and Drake followed him in that same role for the Tar Heels in the 2020s after first starring at both Hough and Myers Park in high school. Older brother Luke Maye was a standout for one of UNC’s national championship basketball teams and hit one of the most famous basketball shots in Tar Heel history.
So if things had somehow worked out that Drake Maye was drafted out of UNC as the Panthers’ franchise quarterback, that likely would have made just about everyone happy in the Carolinas. But by the time Maye was picked No. 3 overall by the Patriots in 2024, Carolina (now 1-3 this season) had already used the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.
But Maye completely outplayed Young on Sunday, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another. Maye’s quarterback rating was 155.6 (158.3 is considered perfect in the NFL), as he went 14-for-17 for 203 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
The Patriots (2-2) had committed five turnovers the week before in a loss, so Maye was happy with their no-turnover performance Sunday.
“We got back to our fundamentals and kind of back to establishing our identity,” Maye said.
Young, meanwhile, went 18-for-30 for 150 yards, with one touchdown and no turnovers. His passer rating was a modest 84.0, however, due to having far fewer yards per completion than Maye. He only led one scoring drive, as he was replaced in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach by Andy Dalton, who marched the Panthers to a meaningless touchdown.
Young never completed a pass of more than 16 yards all day, while Maye hit two of 30-plus. Maye’s best target Sunday was Stefon Diggs, who had six catches for 101 yards, but he also got six other pass-catchers involved. He said afterward he had been trying to spread the ball around since his high school days.
“That’s what I’m trying to become,” Maye said, “and the quarterback I’m trying to become.”
He took a nice step toward that goal Sunday, at the Panthers’ expense.
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Drake Maye channels Cam Newton as Patriots blow out Panthers, 42-13."
