The New England Patriots seem to have one of the NFL’s most important partnerships clicking at the right time.

Quarterback Drake Maye is coming off his best performance of the season, throwing for 374 yards and four touchdowns while adding a rushing score in a 45-17 win over the Raiders on Oct. 11.

The five-touchdown outing came one week after Maye helped New England knock off the Bills on the road, snagging consecutive wins for the Patriots following a 1-2 start.

Derius Swinton II, whom Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels hired as assistant special teams coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023, believes McDaniels deserves healthy credit for the confidence Maye is showing.

McDaniels Gives QBs ‘Answers to the Test’

Swinton specifically noted McDaniels’ preparation and ability to build around a quarterback’s strengths make him an ideal coach for a young franchise passer.

“One thing that Josh McDaniels has always been great at is how he sees the game and how he gets his QBs to see the game the same way,” Swinton wrote to Heavy.com. “He takes the strengths of his quarterbacks and finds ways to use them while creating an offense that will exploit the defenses they face each week.”

Swinton has spent more than a decade coaching in the NFL and has held multiple coordinator jobs. The 41-year-old emphasized how much McDaniels’ weekly preparation can help a quarterback play fast and confidently.

“He is one of the most, if not the most prepared coaches each week and will leave no stone unturned,” Swinton continued. “He creates such confidence in his quarterbacks going into each game because they feel as if they have the answers to the test when they run out there each week.

“I think you can see that confidence in Drake each week which will lead to big games. You can tell their relationship is growing where Drake is taking what Josh is doing wanting the offense to look like and bringing it to life.”

Swinton finished with an emphatic endorsement of McDaniels as a quarterback developer. He penned that there are “very few people better than Josh McDaniels to take that player to their highest level.”

Maye-McDaniels Combo Comes to Life

The outcome against Las Vegas divulged the most obvious example yet of what Swinton described.

Maye completed 4 of 6 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns on throws traveling more than 20 yards downfield. New England also scored its most points in a game with Maye as the starter.

Afterward, Maye commended McDaniels for putting the offense in position to succeed.

“Coach [Josh] McDaniels was — it was beautiful,” Maye said after the win, per Patriots.com’s transcript. “It was beautiful to be a part of today. He was clicking on all cylinders, making us look good, and we were executing.”

McDaniels also felt great about Maye’s action, telling reporters the quarterback is “making progress every week.”

That progress may face stress against the New York Jets on Oct. 18 at Gillette Stadium.

With a 3-2 record, New England has a chance to lengthen its winning streak to three games.