Drake Maye joined a rare group of Patriots quarterbacks on Sunday.
When a team such as the New England Patriots has Tom Brady for two decades, it’s hard for any quarterback to make history for the team.
Starting quarterback Drake Maye nonetheless joined a rare group of Patriots quarterbacks on Sunday with a 28-16 win over the Houston Texans. Maye became the fourth quarterback in Patriots history to win multiple playoff games.
It’s a short list with Brady, Drew Bledsoe, and Tony Eason. All three also led the Patriots to at least one Super Bowl appearance — except Brady made nine with New England. Maye can join that list next week with a win in the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos.
Drake Maye Faced Ups and Downs Against the Texans
On Sunday, Maye completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards for three touchdowns versus an interception. He also made plays with his legs on four carries for 10 yards. Conversely, Maye took five sacks and had four fumbles but lost two.
“We talk about not going in the blender. And I think it’s hard,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Sunday regarding Maye. “They put pressure on us, and we know we’ve got to take care of the ball. Drake knows that.”
Maye stepped up when the Patriots needed it most in the fourth quarter with a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kayson Boutte with 12:58 left in the game. New England went up 28-16 after the Texans had been lurking down by a score most of the second half.
“But to be able to stay the course and to trust Kayshon and give him a great ball that was him or nobody, and those guys have kind of done that all year — when we needed a play, they’ve been able to do that for us,” Vrabel said.
Drake Maye on Pivotal Fourth Quarter
Maye didn’t see any success in the third quarter with a fumble in a three- play drive and then a three-play drive that resulted in a punt.
Houston hit two field goals during the third, and pressure fell on Maye’s shoulders with just two pass completions in the half but for no yards. Maye put it behind him and went to work in the late third quarter and start of the fourth to turn things around.
“There’s ups and downs with the game,” Maye told reporters afterward. “Our mentality on offense is go down and score.”
Maye started off with a 14-yard completion to tight end Austin Hooper, and two plays later, Maye went deep to Boutte and benefitted from a 17-yard pass interference penalty on the Texans. Maye and Boutte later linked up on the touchdown to conclude the six-play, 71-yard drive.
“He keeps on making them. He keeps on making plays, making me look good,” Maye said of Boutte. “I’m proud to be able to give him some throws to make a play on it. A one-handed catch, not much else to say about it. It was pretty sweet.”
“Kind of the same type of throw as my first one to him. And he made an even better catch this time. Props to Kayshon for keep on playing. He was huge for us tonight,” Maye added.
Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis
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