‘That guy’s special’: Patriots players praised Drake Maye’s late-game heroics despite loss

By Hayden Bird The Patriots lost to the Titans 20-17 on Sunday, but Drake Mayes teammates continued to grow in the belief that the rookie quarterback is capable of making special plays.

While that ability might not factor into a 2024 season turnaround, the future seems to grow brighter by the week for New England.

Maye, 22, orchestrated an 11-play game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter against the Titans that culminated with arguably the most memorable moment of his young NFL career.

Starting at the Titans five-yard line with four seconds, Maye scrambled around in the pocket making multiple Tennessee rushers miss before firing a last-second touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson as he was getting hit.

The score, recorded with no time on the clock, sent the game to overtime after Joey Slyes extra point.

DRAKE MAYE! RHAMONDRE STEVENSON! @PATRIOTS TIE IT UP! pic.twitter.com/ThCEJxhA0b Of course, Mayes performance left a little more to be desired.

Alongside the fourth quarter heroics, he committed three turnovers (two interceptions), including a deep throw in overtime that Titans safety Amani Hooker intercepted to seal the game for Tennessee.

Yet the growing pains were to be expected for a rookie, especially on a team that struggles in several other categories beyond its quarterback play, and is now 2-7 on the season.

Asked afterward what he saw from his young quarterback, coach Jerod Mayo said it only reaffirmed what the Patriots already knew about Maye.

Mental toughness, and the ability to make plays with his legs, which he has shown before, said Mayo.

Teammates concurred, noting that Maye has shown plenty of his play-making capacity in practice.

Thats Drake, said cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

Nobody was surprised, honestly.

Drake does stuff like that all the time.

He fought and did all he could.

Im proud of him.

That guys special, tight end Hunter Henry added of the first-year quarterback.

Just the way he competes, the way he plays, the way he continues to fight.

Im excited to continue to go out there play with him.

Hes very special, got a lot of talent, only going to continue to get better, learn from those situations and experiences.

Proud of him, proud of his fight.

Theres a lot to learn, and were going to continue to build.

Pride in their quarterback was a common emotion among Patriots players following the game.

Though it ended with a loss, long-term optimism surrounding Maye is undeniable.

Drake is just phenomenal, said Kendrick Bourne.

He keeps showing it, week-in and week-out.

And Im just very proud of him.

Weve got to keep being behind him.

When youve got somebody like that, it encourages you to go harder and thats what we want as a unit, the wide receiver added of Maye.

The wild final play of regulation happened only after Maye scrambled around for nearly 12 seconds before completing the touchdown pass while getting hit Bourne noted it was an unusually long sequence.

Hes resilient.

Hes always showed that, but that [play] was just different, Bourne said of Maye.

I dont know how many people he made miss, but as a wideout on that play, I couldnt run more.

It was tough.

That mightve been the longest play Ive ever been a part of, which was impressive but weve got to keep working for him.

Looking beyond the current situation New England finds itself in all but out of playoff contention in early November Patriots players understand they need to raise their own levels to match Maye.

We have to build.

He gives a lot of potential to grow and I think thats the greatest thing about Drake.

Hes doing things that you dont really see at a young age, so Im very excited, Bourne explained.

I want to be better for him.

I think everyone understands in our offensive room that we have something in him that can make everybody better.

He has the aura to him, Bourne added.

You just know that hes going to go out there and do his thing.

Hes going to play.

Hes not scared, and thats somebody that you want to follow.

As for the disappointing final throw of the day, with Maye committing the game-ending turnover with an overtime interception, Mayo took a sympathetic line on the situation.

Look, hes a guy out there trying to make a play, Mayo said of Maye.

Hes just trying to make a play, and I think sometimes as well as he has played, sometimes we felt how young he is.

Hes going to continue to develop, and hell be a good quarterback in this league.

Well all learn from this, myself included.

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Hayden Bird Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016.

He covers all things sports in New England.

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