New England Patriots
“I didn’t throw very well tonight. We have to do better. We did what we had to do.”
Drake Maye and the Patriots won against the Chargers on Sunday. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)
FOXBOROUGH – As he has done all season, Drake Maye turned down the praise Sunday and focused it on his teammates following the Patriots’ first postseason victory in nearly seven years.
His comments carried even more weight after New England’s 16-3 win over the Chargers — especially considering the rock fight that unfolded during most of that game.
“It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure,” Maye said after the win. “But this defense was so fun to watch. Congratulations to them. It was so fun to watch. They won the game for us. I didn’t throw very well tonight. It has to be better. We did what we had to do. That’s what it takes in the playoffs. Proud of this team.”
It wasn’t the sharpest performance in Maye’s postseason debut on Sunday.
While the 23-year-old QB’s emergence as an MVP frontrunner this season has helped fuel a 10-win turnaround in 2025, Maye and New England’s explosive offense took a backseat on defense on Sunday.
A six-sack performance from New England’s big bodies up front was necessary as Maye and the Patriots struggled to get into a rhythm for most of Sunday’s game in Foxborough.
After completing a league-leading 72.0 percent of his throws to open the season, Maye went 17-for-29 on his passing (58.6 percent) against a stingy Chargers defense on Sunday — throwing for 268 yards and one touchdown in the victory.
The second-year QB also had a pair of turnovers: a tipped pass intercepted in the first quarter and a fumble generated by a strip sack by Chargers linebacker Odafe Oweh in the third quarter.
“We have to take care of the football,” Mike Vrabel said of his quarterback’s play. “I thought he came through when we needed him. The tipped pass is something that was unfortunate. That turned into an interception. But I thought the throw to Hunter when we needed him was elite.”
Despite some struggles against Los Angeles’ tenacious passing defense, Maye began to settle in the second half.
While most of Sunday’s game was a close battle, Maye was able to take advantage coming out of halftime by completing 11 of 14 throws in the second half for 173 passing yards, one touchdown and a passer rating of 142.0.
Maye’s best throw of the night came when he grounded — after TreVeyon Henderson picked off Daiyan Henley with a key blitz pickup — and hit Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown with 9:45 left, giving New England some breathing room.
‘Most of the time I had a flat tire [route] Derwin holds those kinds of things, but it really didn’t,” Maye said. “So, just trust [Henry]. He just makes big catches, time and time again. It was a similar throw to the one to [Hooper]and I missed one [Hooper]so I just thought, give him a chance to do a play. It’s a game of inches, and we ended up on the right side.”
New England will need to limit its turnover going forward if this team wants to continue its turnaround season into early February.
But Maye was grateful that he and his teammates did enough to win against Los Angeles, and Maye was going to celebrate with his family after the win.
“My parents come to every game, so they’re always there, and my three brothers were here, so it was pretty cool, all three of them were there,” Maye said. “It’s just special to share these moments with them, go home and shoot, probably play ping pong until 1:30 or something. Having them in the house is cool. Those are three of my best friends.”
Maye and the Patriots now advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, with New England hosting the Steelers or Texans at Gillette Stadium next Sunday, January 18.
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