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New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had a pretty eventful day in their humiliating 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The rookie left for a drive in the first quarter after taking a hard hit up high, causing him to be evaluated for a concussion. After he cleared those tests, Maye returned and showed some poise. He threw an impressive touchdown pass to DeMario Douglas before halftime, taking advantage of the free play given to him with the Chargers jumping offside.
But as the game went along, Maye and the Patriots' offense continued to struggle. That touchdown pass was their only score of the game as Maye got sacked on a pair of fourth-down opportunities later on in the second half. He finished the game with completing 12 of 22 passes for 117 yards, a touchdown, and zero interceptions with 32 rushing yards on six carries.
Maye's performance on Saturday came on the heels of the Patriots' surprising outing against the Buffalo Bills last week, where they got out to a surprising 14-0 lead before losing by three. As the Patriots fell to 3-13 and continued to show their inability to string together multiple impressive outings in a row on Saturday, Maye admitted that he's part of the team's inconsistencies.
“I think it's just two different teams that's showed up with us between this week and last week, and I think two playoff teams we've faced and we see what we can do against a playoff team last week, and I just feel like it wasn't there this week,” Maye told reporters. “I think just look back, self-evaluate, look myself in the mirror. I definitely left some plays out there, so everybody has got to look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, am I doing whatever we need to do to be on the same page and play good football?'”
Despite the team's record, Maye believes that the Patriots have the right personnel to get that fixed in 2025.
“I think it's in there. I think it's in store for us,” Maye said. “Like I said last week, we've got people in here that can make plays, good players in this league, so we've just got to put it all together and find a way to do more and get on the same page offensively and kind of get the ball rolling. I feel like that's kind of the tale of two tales when we're rolling well and when we're not we're kind of stagnant.”
Drake Maye defends Jerod Mayo and Patriots coaching staff
Maye gave a pretty staunch defense of head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt following their loss to the Bills last week. He did the same again on Saturday, believing they're a part of the long-term equation for the Patriots.
“I think they're still bringing it every week,” Maye said. “I think that's the biggest thing you see. They're not quitting. They're still coaching as hard since week one. They're still studying film as hard. We're still meeting as hard.
“I think the biggest thing was you don't see those guys quitting. I think the score may not tell that today, but I feel like the guys are still wanting to win. We're still leaving it out there every week, and I think that was kind of my message to the team. Man, just give it all you got. It's our last two games, and this one today, so we've got one more chance next week, so just leave it all out there.”
Mayo was showered with Patriots fans chanting for the team to fire him in their loss on Saturday. It's been reported on multiple occasions that his seat is safe for the 2025 season, but a loss like the one they had on Saturday certainly won't quell those rumors. The Patriots will hope to silence that noise when they take on the Bills again in the season finale next weekend.
