Winning seven-straight games has Drake Maye in defiant mode, despite a key mistake by the New England Patriots’ quarterback in Week 10. Maye threw a critical end zone interception late in the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that might’ve cost his team victory, but the third-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft isn’t worried about his sometimes reckless playing style.
Maye saw his late and desperate heave into the end zone for wide receiver Mack Hollins snatched by Bucs’ safety Tykee Smith. The smarter move would have been for Maye to throw the ball away and settle for a field goal with the Pats holding a slender 21-16 lead with just over five minutes left in the game.
Ultimately, New England left Raymond James Stadium with a 28-23 victory on Sunday, November 9, but Maye’s latest example of hero ball rates as a worry. At least to outsiders, but the second-year signal-caller who already looks like a candidate for the MVP award, isn’t so concerned.
Maye told reporters, “I’m not going to change my approach. I wouldn’t change the throw. I had Mack [Hollins] earlier. Just got to make it him or nobody out there, out wide. You got to be mad yourself, but you know that you have a chance to either go on a two-minute drill to win the game or go on a five-minute scenario to win the game. That’s this league, just bouncing back from it, flipping the page,” per Patriots.com Staff Writer Evan Lazar.
Confidence in how he plays the game is part of what makes Maye a special talent, but this isn’t the first time his habit of extending plays and chancing his arm has caused the Patriots a problem.
Drake Maye’s Not Heeding the Warnings
Maye has already been warned by head coach Mike Vrabel about his ad-libbing on the field. Vrabel took his frustrations public after Week 3’s defeat by the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Maye also threw an interception into the end zone.
Turnovers like these are part of the risk and reward balance the Patriots face with Maye at the controls of their offense. He’s a naturally dynamic playmaker, somebody who’s going to trust his athleticism to salvage any situation.
When Maye gets it right, he’ll manufacture big plays the Pats otherwise wouldn’t produce. Yet when things go wrong, the Patriots lose efficiency and land themselves in jeopardy.
Fortunately, the jeopard proved brief in Tampa, thanks to New England’s defense forcing a turnover on downs at the Patriots’ 27-yard line. The bailout for Maye continued on the next play, when a rookie skill-player, who was more aware of smart, situational football, generated the decisive play.
Patriots Rookies Saved the Day
A 69-yard touchdown run by rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson put this game just out of sight for the Patriots. It was the second scoring dash of 50-plus yards for the 38th player selected in this year’s draft, but Henderson’s awareness is what impressed Vrabel the most.
Vrabel noted Henderson was looking toward the Pats’ sideline wondering if he needed to go to ground to help run out the clock. Ultimately, Henderson got the green light to continue on for six more points, but Vrabel revealed the young back “was thinking the right thing. In the game the way that it was – they needed two touchdowns – I think it was OK,” per Alex Barth of 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Going to the end zone was the right call, but Vrabel wants smart football from his team in every situation. It’s how he won three Super Bowls as an outside linebacker and occasional goal-line tight end with the Patriots, and Vrabel needs his quarterback to play the same way.
Maye can’t always count on being helped out by the speed of Henderson and fellow rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams, who brought a struggling offense to life with a 72-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
The QB1 will eventually need to rein in his more gung-ho instincts when a game demands more caution in a critical moment.
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