Stats don’t inform the story of Drake Maye’s run to Tremendous Bowl LX
New England Patriots
“I simply know that I can depend on 10. When doubtful, depend on 10.”
A fast look on the stat e book following Sunday’s AFC championship bout between the Patriots and Broncos received’t replicate effectively on Drake Maye.
The second-year QB’s ascension from promising QB to MVP frontrunner has fueled New England’s rise from a four-win membership right into a Tremendous Bowl contender.
However as whipping winds and a gradual snowfall blanketed Empower Subject at Mile Excessive, Maye’s aerial assault was grounded on Sunday.
The second-year QB accomplished simply 10 of his 21 makes an attempt. He threw for zero touchdowns and 86 whole yards — averaging simply 4.1 yards per try.
However as Stefon Diggs was fast to notice on Sunday, particular person numbers maintain little weight when contrasted in opposition to a very powerful barometer of a staff’s destiny — the scoreboard.
“Issues weren’t fairly,” the veteran wideout mentioned. “However I advised you a very long time in the past, I’ll take a ugly win earlier than I take a fairly loss.”
A tough night for New England’s passing sport meant little or no to Maye on Sunday — not after the gifted signal-caller and the Patriots punched their ticket to Tremendous Bowl LX.
“It’s fairly particular. It’s one thing I received’t overlook,” Maye mentioned after New England bested Denver, 10-7. “Highway warriors, 9-0 on the highway, taking part in for this staff and ending in victory formation, I head-bumped Will [Campbell], and that was most likely the toughest head bump of my life after I picked up the primary down.
It was particular for these guys, we’ve been in that state of affairs rather a lot, I all the time say that’s my favourite play, and each staff’s favourite play once you’re in victory formation. That was, I feel, what, our seventeenth win? It’s been a protracted season, and it’s been value it.”
In a sport the place factors had been at a premium in ugly climate situations, Maye nonetheless doled out sufficient injury in opposition to an elite Broncos protection to capitalize in crunch-time conditions — often counting on his legs to maneuver the chains.
Maye gained 65 yards off of 10 carries on Sunday, scoring New England’s lone landing of the afternoon with a six-yard keeper within the second quarter. He additionally gaining six of New England’s 12 first downs by way of scrambles and designed runs.
Maybe most significantly, he didn’t flip the ball over after fumbling six occasions in his final two playoff video games.
“These lengthy legs got here in helpful,” Diggs mentioned of Maye. “He was working round, stiff-arming guys, making performs at a excessive degree. He was being good. I feel the largest factor for this sport just isn’t turning over the ball. Our protection is gonna maintain it down.
“So that you don’t flip the ball over … we’re all the time in a great place. … I simply know that I can depend on 10. When doubtful, depend on 10.”
Diggs’ endorsement was validated with beneath two minutes to go in regulation.
After Chrisitan Gonzalez put New England getting ready to a Tremendous Bowl berth by choosing off Jarrett Stidham, New England nonetheless wanted to achieve a primary right down to run out the clock and go into victory formation.
Given the offensive slog that hindered each the Patriots and Broncos amid that snowfall, it was removed from a assure that New England was going to maneuver the chains on a Third-and-6 play from the Patriots’ personal 40-yard line.
However Maye and the Patriots’ capitalized off a unadorned bootleg play, with Maye outrunning Jonah Elliss to the sting and choosing up seven yards to maneuver the chains and shut out the win.
“We had been in huge personnel, working the identical deal to the appropriate, little stretch play, and in some unspecified time in the future, they get lackadaisical, and received an opportunity to get on the sting,” Maye mentioned of what he noticed on the victory-clinching run. “I assumed [Elliss] was going to trace me and hawk me down, however received sufficient to select up the primary.
“Coach Vrabes will most likely get mad about working out of bounds, however at that time, it doesn’t matter once you get the primary down. In order that was a cool second, cool to have a good time with these guys, it’s all the time cool to complete in victory formation, so, fairly candy.”
Maye’s highlight-reel tape from a breakout 2025 season received’t be rife with throws from Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Broncos. However that seven-yard scramble — given the stakes at play — will likely be added to Patriots franchise lore, particularly if this staff can seal the deal in two weeks at Levi’s Stadium.
Maye is now only one means from being the youngest QB in NFL historical past to win a Tremendous Bowl — a sentence that sounds surreal given the state of this franchise within the summertime.
The subsequent two weeks will probably function loads of verbal barbs doled out by the likes of Cam Newton, Max Kellerman, Skip Bayless, and numerous different pundits and media personalities who will likely be fast to low cost Maye’s baseline stats within the postseason.
In fact, criticisms of New England’s lighter regular-season slate and the Patriots’ lackluster offensive manufacturing within the postseason (18.0 PPG) are inclined to ring hole when weighed in opposition to the competitors.
Sure, New England’s scoring output by way of three playoff video games stands because the fewest by any staff to make the Tremendous Bowl for the reason that 1979 Rams (15.0).
However the Patriots have additionally overcome three postseason matchups in opposition to groups who all ranked within the top-five in whole protection this season — with Maye standing as the primary QB in league historical past to win three playoff video games in opposition to a trio of top-five defenses in a single playoff run.
It received’t get any simpler on Feb. 8, not in opposition to a Seattle protection that ranks first in factors allowed per sport (17.2) and sixth in yards in opposition to per sport (285.6).
The ultimate stat line might not be fairly for Maye in two weeks in opposition to one other daunting opponent.
But when the evening ends with Maye lifting the Lombardi Trophy, one can be hard-pressed to seek out fault in a season that few anticipated from the 23-year-old QB.
“It’s full circle,” Maye mentioned of taking part in a sport at Levi’s Stadium after going to Tremendous Bowl 50 on the similar discipline in February 2016. “My dad, when, I feel, I used to be in seventh grade, mentioned if the Panthers made it, we had been going to go. It was heartbreaking, they misplaced to the Broncos, however what an expertise for a child at my age who loves soccer, who loves quarterbacks, that was Peyton [Manning]’s final sport, what a Corridor of Fame profession he had.
“So, fairly cool to be full circle going again right here 10 years later, and I feel it’s only a particular second for this entire staff and we’re simply going to take pleasure in it tonight, head again. We’ve received two weeks, so we’ve received some work to do.”
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