This coming Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans will feature a unique battle of minds involving a pair of brothers.
Josh McDaniels is serving as New England’s offensive coordinator, while young brother Ben is Houston’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Patriots quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant revealed that quarterback Drake Maye is having some fun with his OC about this weekend’s matchup.
Maye is no stranger to sibling rivalries, as he has three older brothers.
Drake Maye is using “friendly banter” to fire Josh McDaniels up
“There’s some friendly banter going on between Drake and Josh and the McDaniels war,” Grant explained, per Karen Guregian of MassLive. “But we try to make it about us and what we’re going to do.”
Much has been made since the fall about how Josh McDaniels helped Maye develop into a Most Valuable Player Award candidate as a second-year pro. In New England’s 16-3 wild-card home victory over the Los Angeles Chargers back on Jan. 11, Maye completed 17-of-29 passes for 268 yards with an interception and a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Maye understands he likely will have to produce better numbers while going up against a menacing Houston defense. The Texans scored a pair of fourth-quarter defensive touchdowns in their 30-6 blowout win over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Monday night.
“He’s trying to get Josh riled up,” Grant said about Maye’s tactics. “Josh is a very competitive person himself, so I think Drake tries to nudge him a little bit, which is fun for the room.”
Josh McDaniels discusses going up against Ben McDaniels
During his media availability, Josh McDaniels declined to show the competitive side of his nature while discussing what could make for an interesting storyline.
“We’re looking forward to the opportunity … he’s trying to beat us like we’re trying to beat him,” Josh McDaniels said about this Sunday’s showdown and about Ben. “We compete in almost anything we do, honestly, which is kind of fun, and this will be no different.”
As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots as three-point favorites over the Texans.