SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Drake Maye was a dependable and steadying force for the New England Patriots this season. The second-year quarterback never got the chance to be that when his team needed him most in the Super Bowl.
Maye was the NFL’s most accurate passer during the regular season and finished second in MVP voting, but he was hounded by the Seahawks' “Dark Side” defense throughout. He threw two touchdown passes, but was sacked six times, had two interceptions and lost a fumble that led to a TD by Seattle in New England's 29-13 loss on Sunday.
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“Definitely hurts," Maye said. “They played better than us tonight.”
Maye, who was limited in one practice during the bye week with a right shoulder injury suffered in the AFC championship win over Denver, said after the Super Bowl he received a pain-relieving injection before the game.
“I shot it up, so not much feeling,” he said of the shoulder. “It was good to go, and it felt all right.”
Maye didn’t think the injury affected his performance against the Seahawks.
“I wouldn’t put the team in harm’s way to not be myself,” he said. “Just didn’t make plays tonight.”
It was a humbling end for a team that seemed poised to recapture a little of the magic of the Patriots' run of six championships over two decades. Instead, Maye sat after the game with his head down, in grass-stained pants and tears welling in his eyes.
“Family travel all this way to watch us play. Don't ruin their night. Because it sucks and it hurts," Maye said.
Maye finished 27 of 43 for 295 yards and there were few highlights before he and the Patriots finally found some traction in the third quarter.
Left tackle Will Campbell gave up two of the sacks on Maye as the Seahawks sent several blitzes to his side of the line. According to Next Gen Stats, Campbell allowed 14 pressures, the most allowed by any NFL player in a game this season. But Vrabel said no one performance was responsible for the offense's lack of production.
“We can sit here and try to put in on one guy. You'll be disappointed because that will never happen," Vrabel said. “It starts with us as a coaching staff. ... That's never going to change."
Trailing 19-0 after his fumble set up a touchdown pass by Sam Darnold, Maye finally got some time to operate in the pocket and threw a 35-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins.
It brought some life to the Patriots' sideline.
But it was short-lived.
Maye’s pass intended for Kyle Williams was picked off by Julian Love. The Seahawks added Jason Myers’ fifth field goal on their ensuing drive.
Down 22-7, New England’s fate was basically sealed when Maye was picked off by Uchenna Nwosu, who returned it 45 yards for a score.
The Patriots, who came in averaging 18 points per game in the playoffs, were held to 331 total yards.
New England was denied a seventh Lombardi Trophy, which would have broken a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in NFL history. It was a thudding end to a Cinderella-like season for the Patriots, who finished the regular season 14-3 in coach Mike Vrabel’s first season — which came off back-to-back 4-13 finishes.
“Part of our identity is not being a front-runner,” Vrabel said. "Just like every year, somebody’s gonna lose this game, and we have to remember what it feels like.”
The Patriots fell into a 12-0 halftime hole and punted on eight of their first nine drives. It would have been seven straight, but the final one of the first half was a one-play kneel down.
The 51 total yards gained by the Patriots were the fewest in a first half in the last 35 Super Bowls.
“We couldn't gain any rhythm, any field position," Vrabel said. “Defensively, we were really good against the run and we weren't. We were just playing catch-up.”
It also marked the fifth Super Bowl without a touchdown in the first half. Maye also became first player to be sacked three times on the first four drives of a Super Bowl since Tom Brady in Super Bowl 42 against the New York Giants.
One of the reasons Seattle’s defense was so effective was it did a great job of keeping New England’s offense in long yardage situations on third down. The Patriots had to negotiate third downs of 9, 15, 17, 7 and 12 yards in the first half. They were only 2 of 7 on conversions in the first half.
The most emotion Maye displayed afterward was in thinking about the shortcoming of a group that won’t be the same next season.
“Had that sink in right now. Hopefully a lot of the same faces are here. The nature of the business I know it won't be like that,” Maye said, his voice cracking. “But, this team was awesome.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL