Drake Maye called his three-interception night in a 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday unacceptable, including a game-sealing pick in the end zone when New England was positioned to attempt a tying field goal.
He finished 23 of 33 for 178 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, saying the performance was not how he plays football and not how he wants to represent himself and the quarterback position.
New England led 10-0 early in the third quarter with Seattle’s Sam Darnold knocked out in the first quarter, but the Patriots squandered that lead as Maye threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter alone. He said he thought they had the game under control and had a good plan to be patient, but that he lost patience and the decisions he made cost the game.
He became just the second quarterback in the past 25 seasons to throw three interceptions in the fourth quarter of a season opener, joining Baker Mayfield, who did it with the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
The fourth quarter collapse
The first two interceptions came on plays Maye acknowledged as mistakes. He forced a deep ball to a heavily covered Romeo Doubs. He threw what appeared to be a telegraphed pass over the middle to Pop Douglas on third-and-14. The Seahawks converted both into points on their way to 10 fourth-quarter points and the lead.
The third came with 26 seconds remaining, the Patriots at the Seattle 16, well within kicking range to tie the score. Maye said the protection called for tackles to cut block, and he was trying to get rid of the ball quickly and found Mack Hollins in the back of the end zone but did not put enough on it to throw the ball out of bounds. Cornerback Josh Jobe intercepted it. With a chance to send it to overtime at worst, he said, the only thing that could stop that from happening was a turnover, and that is what he produced.
He also took three sacks in the fourth quarter, making it just the second game of his career with multiple interceptions, the other being Super Bowl LX.
Vrabel’s response
Coach Mike Vrabel said the Patriots want to be aggressive, not reckless, adding that the team has the utmost confidence in the quarterback and that he will make a lot of plays. Vrabel was with him outside the locker room alongside his family after the game.
He vowed to be better, acknowledged it is a long season, but said the Patriots quarterback cannot have those performances.
The bigger picture
The Patriots held Darnold’s replacement, Drew Lock, to a modest performance and led for most of the game. Losing in the manner they did, with three turnovers on the final three possessions, will be the Patriots’ story of the week.
Maye’s willingness to own the performance directly should make the conversation shorter.
