Costly turnovers, a sore shoulder and major regrets: Drake Maye’s first Super Bowl doesn’t go as planned for Patriots
SANTA CLARA — Drake Maye’s first Super Bowl was not the stuff of dreams.
The Patriots’ second-year quarterback, fighting through a sore shoulder at Super Bowl 60, endured punishing hits from Seattle’s defense as he struggled to complete passes to open receivers.
His performance simply wasn’t good enough for the Patriots to win on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, as the Seahawks held New England scoreless until the fourth quarter and dominated the Pats’ offense in a 29-13 win.
No one knew better than Maye how wide the gap was between the two teams in Santa Clara. And the 23-year-old clearly felt responsible for his three second-half turnovers that helped Seattle pull away after taking a 9-0 lead into the halftime break.
But there was nothing he could do but face the disappointment. And he did, with the emotion of missed opportunities written all over his youthful visage.
“Those plays that you can change the game matter,” Maye said, “and if you make them, you’re celebrating. If you don’t, you’re sitting here, you’re crying out at the podium. That’s part of it. And I know the postseason is what you play for, and I know we’ll be back. That’s what you play the game for.”
Maye found himself on the wrong side of several game-changing plays in the final two quarters. His fumble inside Patriots territory late in the third was recovered by Byron Murphy at the New England 37-yard line.
Five plays later, Seattle scored its first touchdown on a 16-yard toss from Sam Darnold to AJ Barner and took a 19-0 lead.
The Seahawks’ long-awaited breakthrough into the end zone felt like the end for the Pats. But Maye responded by leading New England down the field in three quick plays, hitting Mack Hollins for a 35-yard score and taking just 57 seconds off the clock.
Yet it was another Maye turnover that turned the momentum back toward the Seahawks. With 8:49 to play, Maye heaved a wing-and-a-prayer deep ball right down the middle of the field, where Julian Love waited patiently for the floater and secured the fair catch.
Then Love returned the ball to the plus-38, where six plays thereafter, Jason Myers put Seattle up 22-7 with a 26-yard field goal, his record-breaking fifth of the game.
“You live, you learn, and the losses, they hurt,” Maye said. “You try to learn when you win, and try to remember this feeling when you lose. And I know there’s a lot of things that you wish you had back, but it’s a way to make you stronger in the end.”
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel tried to take some blame off Maye after the game, saying the team’s offensive futility was a collective effort.
“Guys, we can sit here and try to put it all on one guy. You’ll be disappointed, because that’ll never happen,” Vrabel said. “It starts with us as a coaching staff and making sure that we’re doing our part. And then obviously we have to be able to execute, we have to be able to protect. And when we do protect, we have to be able to progress through and throw the ball to the guy that’s open and help the quarterback. And then he’s gotta be better. That’s just how it goes.”
Perhaps the play that most haunts Maye is his final turnover. With the Patriots clinging to their last gasp, Maye drove New England to Seattle’s 44-yard line with 4:37 to play.
But Maye was pressured by Devon Witherspoon and forced a short pass right into the arms of Uchenna Nwosu, who sprinted 45 yards for the Patriots’ final touchdown.
Down 29-7 with less than five minutes left, Maye’s first Super Bowl was sealed.
“There’s plays that I’ll think about for the next probably seven months until we’re back in September, playing our first game,” Maye said. “There’s really nothing more to say than make plays when they’re there. And that’s the difference between teams that are sitting home watching tonight, and the difference between us losing tonight and them celebrating.”