The Patriots had to overcome a few obstacles in their Week 8 game against the rival Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

The weather was a factor as rain poured onto the field throughout the game. The Patriots also entered this matchup without several key players on offense because of injuries.

The Dolphins led 13-3 at halftime. For a moment, it looked like a disastrous loss to a 1-5 opponent was a real possibility. But Patriots quarterback Drake Maye didn't let that happen. He completed nine of 10 pass attempts for 140 yards and three total touchdowns in the second half to help lead his team to a 24-19 victory.

“You wanna be a great quarterback in the National Football League, there’s not a whole lot of excuses," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said postgame. "You go out there and you find ways to win for your football team. I know that that’s who he is and what he wants to continue to be. He throws to the open guy, and controls our offense, and gets guys in the right spots. That’s called being one of the best quarterbacks in the league. That’s what the job description requires.”

Maye put the Patriots on his back and carried them to a gritty win. His performance the last five weeks has put him back into the NFL MVP conversation.

How strong is his case right now? Let's break it down.

Latest MVP odds

Here are the updated MVP odds via DraftKings (as of publish time, Nov. 2).

1. Josh Allen, BUF: +140
2. Joe Burrow, CIN: +425
3. Brock Purdy, SF: +425
4. Trevor Lawrence, JAX: +850
5. Patrick Mahomes, KC: +1400
6. Drake Maye, NE: +1400
7. Caleb Williams, CHI: +1400

The stats

Rich Storry-Imagn Images

Rich Storry-Imagn Images

There's no doubt Maye has performed at an MVP level of late.

Over the last five weeks, he has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,398 yards with 14 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He also has talled 134 yards and three more touchdowns on the ground. The Patriots are 4-1 during this span.

Here's where Maye ranks among his peers in notable stats for the whole season:

• Passing yards: 1,983 (6th)
• Passing TDs: 15 (T-5th)
• Completion %: 67.1 (7th)
• Completion % over expected: +4.0 (7th)
• Yards per attempt: 8.5 (T-2nd)
• Rating: 100.4 (10th)
• EPA/dropback: 0.13 (8th)

Despite a tough start to the season, Maye is ranked top 10 in just about all of the most meaningful quarterback stats. This fact is even more impressive when you consider how much he's been pressured and the injuries to his top targets in the passing attack.

Let's dive into those below.

Banged up offensive line

Kevin DuCharme/NBC Sports Boston

Kevin DuCharme/NBC Sports Boston

The Patriots offensive line hasn't been horrible this season, but injuries have certainly taken their toll on this group.

The Patriots currently have their starting left guard (Alijah Vera-Tucker) and starting right guard (Mike Onwenu) on injured reserve. Other guards including Ben Brown and Greg Van Roten have missed time, too.

Starting tackles Will Campbell and Morgan Moses have both had to leave a game early due to injury.

Maye has been pressured on 41.4 percent of his dropbacks this season, per Next Gen Stats. Only six quarterbacks have been pressured at a higher rate.

Maye's ability to escape the pressure and either throw on the run or pick up yards running the ball has been so valuable to the Patriots as they work through these injuries along the o-line.

Lack of weapons

The Patriots were without their No. 1 wideout in A.J. Brown, their No. 2 wideout in Romeo Doubs and their No. 3 wideout in Mack Hollins, due to injuries, for Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

The group of wide receivers that did play included DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism III, Ryan Miller and Kyle Williams. Maye's most trusted target, veteran tight end Hunter Henry, left in the second quarter due to injury, leaving rookie Eli Raridon as the only serviceable receiving tight end available.

Maye still shredded the Dolphins defense, completing 16 of 20 pass attempts for 199 yards with three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and zero turnovers.

Brown has played around 2.5 games this season because of a high ankle sprain and now a knee issue. Hollins hasn't played since Week 4. Doubs has missed the last two games. Henry's status is uncertain.

Second-year running back TreVeyon Henderson also hasn't made much of an impact this season, and he missed Sunday's game due to injury.

Maye, as a result of injuries to his top weapons, is playing with a bottom-10 (or maybe worse) supporting cast in the league right now. And yet he's still playing at a high level and giving the Patriots a strong chance to win most weeks. If the Patriots had an average QB and not Maye, their record likely would be under .500 and not 5-3.

Nobody is doing more with less than Maye.

Quality of competition

The Patriots have played a tough schedule so far.

If you look at EPA per play allowed, they have faced the No. 3 defense (Seahawks), No. 4 defense (Jaguars), No. 10 defense (Bears), No. 17 defense (Jets), No. 24 defense (Bills), No. 29 defense (Raiders) and No. 32 defense (Dolphins).

How does that compare to other notable MVP candidates?

MVP favorite Josh Allen of the Bills has faced one defense (Rams, No. 6) ranked top 10 in EPA allowed per play. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has played against three (Buccaneers, No. 1; Jaguars, No. 4; Steelers, No. 6). 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has played against two (Seahawks, No. 3; Rams, No. 5). Trevor Lawrence has played zero. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has played one (Seahawks, No. 3).

The good news for Maye from a schedule perspective is that his MVP case will strengthen if he keeps playing at an elite level because the Patriots' slate of upcoming games is pretty tough.

They currently have four more games against defenses ranked top 12 or better in EPA allowed per play.

Maye also has head-to-head matchups against Allen and Mahomes left on the schedule, giving him a great opportunity to impress voters when the MVP storyline will be front and center.