The New England Patriots seemingly had a win present wrapped and handed to them to kickoff the 2026 season. Seattle Seahawks quarterback y, and New England held the Seahawks with out a level till the waning minutes of the third quarter.
Regardless of going through backup quarterback Drew Lock and holding a 10-point second half lead, the Patriots’ personal quarterback frequently handed the Seahawks alternatives to get again within the recreation, which allowed Seattle to attain 13 unanswered factors and escape Week 1 with a win within the Tremendous Bowl LX rematch.
Drake Maye completed the season’s opening tilt going 23-of-33 with 178 yards, one landing and three interceptions, all of which got here within the fourth quarter.
Whereas the primary interception of the night time for Maye was a deep soar ball to Romeo Doubs that was batted round and ended up within the palms of Nehemiah Pritchett, the latter two have been inexcusable throws, particularly for a quarterback who was a hair away from being the league’s MVP simply seven months in the past.
With 9:25 left within the fourth quarter and the sport tied at 10 on Third-and-14, Maye threw a sizzling air balloon of a move over the center that might have been timed with an hourglass earlier than it lastly landed within the palms of Seahawks security Julian Love. The Seahawks transformed the turnover right into a discipline objective, capping off a run of 13 unanswered factors within the recreation’s ultimate 19 minutes.
Maye nonetheless had an opportunity to proper his wrongs by main the Patriots on a possible game-winning drive, or on the very least a march downfield that may end in a discipline objective to take the sport into extra time. It regarded just like the third-year quarterback was poised to just do that, as he overcame a 1st-and-20 and a pair of fourth downs within the midst of a 15-play drive. Sadly, the fifteenth play would see Maye make a horrible resolution to (beneath)throw a move into one-on-one protection in the long run zone that was picked off by Josh Jobe to seal the 13-10 win for Seattle whereas the Patriots have been in comfy discipline objective vary. Our Mark Schofield e, and he’s not incorrect.
This was a continuation of a regarding development for Maye. He hasn’t had a very full recreation since Week 17 of the 2025 season when he threw 5 touchdowns to simply two incompletions in a 42-10 public execution of the New York Jets. In 4 postseason video games in opposition to the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and Seahawks – all of whom fielded defenses that completed within the prime eight in defensive EPA per play – Maye struggled.
After 1 within the common season, that quantity dipped right down to 40 within the playoffs. He additionally accomplished lower than 60 p.c of his passes whereas averaging lower than seven yards per try and posted a 6-4 touchdown-interception ratio.
To proceed, Maye’s effectivity additionally took a large hit. After , Maye posted a dreadful -0.105 quantity in that very same metric within the postseason, rating eleventh out of 16 quarterbacks who took a snap within the playoffs. For reference, that -0.105 quantity would put him forty third within the NFL if it have been his common season quantity, sandwiching him between Cam Ward and Dillon Gabriel.
After his horrible efficiency in Week 1, the previous third general decide has now thrown the identical variety of interceptions as touchdowns in his final 5 cumulative begins. His yards per try in these video games sits at simply 6.4, which might put him in the identical vary as Bo Nix and Kirk Cousins among the many lowest within the league from a season in the past.
Whereas Maye had an incredible 2025 season, the frequent demerit positioned upon him was that he largely did it in opposition to lesser competitors and weak defenses. In his final 5 video games, he’s confronted a group of the league’s finest defensive models, and he’s regarded like a totally totally different quarterback.
As soon as is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Thrice is a sample. And this can be a regarding development for the Patriots and their younger quarterback, whom they completely want in the event that they need to attain the identical heights they did in 2025.
