With roughly 30 seconds to go Wednesday, the New England Patriots seemed like a lock to — at least — force overtime against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. But instead of throwing the ball away on the next play, quarterback Drake Maye took an ill-advised shot at the end zone.
It cost his team. For the third time during the contest, Maye was intercepted. This one wound up sealing the victory for the Seahawks, who narrowly won 13-10 in Week 1.
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While the Patriots showed a handful of concerning trends during the contest, Maye bore the brunt of the ire after throwing interceptions on each of the Patriots’ final three drives of the night. The first came with the team trying to hold a lead, the second came with the game tied and the third came with the team already in position for a game-tying field goal.
After the contest, Maye called his final interception “unacceptable,” and said his performance Wednesday “wasn’t how I play football and how I want to represent my game,” per ESPN.
Maye vowed to be better moving forward.
“I vow to myself to be better and realize it’s a long season. But at the same time, you can’t have those. It’s unacceptable.”
After the contest, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel echoed that sentiment, saying he wants Maye to be “aggressive, not reckless” in those situations. Vrabel later added, “You can’t throw three interceptions. Drake knows that.”
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It was a disappointing performance from Maye, who finished as the runner-up for the MVP award last season. The 24-year-old finished the contest 23 of 33, with 178 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, all of which came in the fourth quarter. Maye also rushed for 47 yards.
In Maye’s defense, he was hardly the only problem for the Patriots on Wednesday. The team’s rushing attack was stopped at nearly every turn. Star wideout A.J. Brown was forced to leave the game due to an ankle injury and newcomer Romeo Doubs dropped what would have been a big play. Some also questioned Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ approach, as the team couldn’t handle or adjust to the Seahawks’ blitzes.
Some of those struggles were due to a strong Seahawks defense. If Week 1 was any indication, the Seahawks are once again going to boast one of the most fearsome defenses in the league.
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But it’s not necessarily going to get easier for Maye and the Patriots moving forward. After playing an easy schedule last season, the Patriots face much harder competition this year. Following Week 1’s loss, the team will play the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills in its next three games.
Those aren’t easy wins, meaning Maye will have to get it together against strong competition if he hopes to shake off his Week 1 struggles.
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