Patriots' Drake Maye made magic happen, but admits he has to be better after costly turnovers
BOSTON -- Drake Maye made magic happen for the New England Patriots in Week 9. But the 22-year-old also made his share of rookie mistakes, and the Patriots lost to the lowly Titans in overtime on Sunday.
There was a lot of good from Maye in his fourth career start, and a whole lot of promise. He showed no lingering signs of the concussion that knocked him out of last week's win over the Jets, and went out and ran all over the Titans. He was the same Drake Maye on that front, as he continued to be aggressive when there was an open field in front of him.
He made some nice throws too, including an incredible toss across his body at the end of regulation to tie the game in dramatic fashion. Maye was a magician on the play, showing off why hopes are so high in New England with the athletic QB leading the way.
But he also had two throws that he really wishes he could get back. That included the game-ending interception in overtime, which sent the Patriots to 2-7 on the season.
Drake Maye makes magic happen on final play of regulation
This is a play we're going to be talking about for a while, capping off a drive that we'll be talking about for a while.
Maye and the Patriots took over trailing 17-10 with less than two minutes on the clock and no timeouts. He hit Kayshon Boutte for 11 yards on the second play of the drive to get the Pats to midfield. He scrambled for seven yards on a second-and-1 two plays later, and then hit Hunter Henry for 10 yards on a fourth-and-2 to get New England to the Tennessee 5-yard line.
Maye spiked the ball with eight seconds left. On third-and-goal with four seconds remaining, he went out and did this:
Maye scrambled for over 11 seconds before throwing across the field to find Stevenson in the end zone for the game-tying score. It was simply an incredible play by an incredible athlete.
That is the quarterback of the New England Patriots for the foreseeable future. And plays like that make the future look extremely promising.
Like a true leader, Maye divvied up the praise on that play.
"You got a chance to tie it up so I did whatever I can. They zoned it off, doubling the inside guys. We had a bunch concept on the back line and I think Hunter got run out of bounds," explained Maye. "Rhamondre became a receiver and made a great play."
Maye also gave credit to the offensive line, which he said "battled their butts off" for 12 seconds.
However, after the Patriots lost in overtime, that play wasn't as meaningful.
"But we came up short, so that play doesn't really matter at this point," he said.
That's simply not true. A play like that, to end a drive like that, shows why there is so much hope and hype with Maye at quarterback.
Drake Maye critical of himself after game-ending interception
But Maye's final mistake of the day was a costly one. The Titans got the ball to start overtime and drove down the field in 13 plays. They had to settle for a field goal after the New England defense made a stand inside the 10-yard line, but the comeback hopes ended just three plays later.
Maye threw incomplete to Henry on first down, and then scrambled for 11 yards on second down. With the Patriots at their own 41-yard line, Maye reared back and went deep for Boutte.
It wasn't a great throw though, and Amani Hooker easily came down with his second interception of the day, sealing the 20-17 win for the Titans.
"I think we're throwing into the wind, I've got to put some more on it. Just a dumb decision," Maye said of the throw. "Something you'd like to have back, especially in that situation."
There was still two minutes on the clock and Maye regretted not keeping it simple and trying to set the team up for a game-tying field goal.
"Sometimes the best play is throw it away. Just a bad decision on my part," he added.
Maye was also picked off by Hooker to start the second quarter on a bad deep pass to Ja'Lynn Polk, and fumbled the ball on a strip-sack in the fourth quarter. That fumble led to Tennessee taking a 17-10 lead with 4:27 left in regulation.
Drake Maye was the Patriots' offense on Sunday
It's terrifying to envision what the Patriots would have looked like without Maye on Sunday. New England's running backs got nothing on the ground, and his receivers struggled to make plays downfield.
The Patriots had 295 yards of total offense on Sunday. Maye finished the game 29-of-41 for 206 yards, and he also scrambled for 95 yards to lead the team in rushing yards for the third time this season.
Davon Godchaux says Drake Maye is "Josh Allen 2.0"
Overall, the good still outweighed the bad for Maye on Sunday. He made his mistakes, but he gives fans a reason to tune in to the team. Imagine how the game would have looked without Maye making plays.
So while the present is frustrating, the future does look bright. Maye looks like he is indeed the guy for the Patriots. His play on Sunday had one of his teammates comparing him to one of the best QBs in the NFL.
"Man, that's young Josh Allen 2.0, man," Davon Godchaux told The Boston Herald after Sunday's loss.
That's some serious praise for the rookie, and he earned it with an all-out effort on Sunday. Now he just needs to learn from his mistakes, and get his first true win next weekend when the Patriots visit the Chicago Bears.
"We gotta go back and learn from it, especially me," said Maye. "I gotta take advantage of these reps that I'm getting in the game and play better."
