FOXBORO, Mass. — Drake Maye had a golden opportunity to author a game-winning drive on Sunday. Trailing the Los Angeles Rams by six points, the Patriots quarterback faced a 2nd-and-6 from New England’s 32-yard line with two minutes left.
Maye then took a bad sack left the Patriots in third-and-long. On the next play, Maye badly missed DeMario Douglas — who never turned to look for the ball — while throwing an interception to Kamren Kinchens.
Game over. Rams win, 28-22.
So, what went wrong?
What Happened on Drake Maye’s Game-Ending Interception vs. Rams?
Here’s a look at the play from multiple angles:
KAM SAID BALL GAME!
📺: @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/zODAJV4LWs
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 17, 2024
Maye, Douglas, and Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo were all asked about the interception during postgame media availability. All three described the play in similar terms.
Mayo: “Just miscommunication. … Look, we’ll grow into being able to finish out, finish and close out these games. We’ve just got to go back to work, get on the practice field. Tomorrow we’ll clean up a lot of this stuff, and then Wednesday it’s change the page on to the next game.”
Maye: “It was a two-high look and Pop [Douglas was] up the middle, and they’re pretty good up front rushing five. I tried to kind of put it on them and kind of hit them over the linebacker, and Pop was thinking probably deep. But at the end of the day, just got to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing. I guess, got to just talk through more conversations. Just goes back to me during the week doing more, talking through different situations, ‘Hey, I may put this one on you versus let it rip.’ That’s about it.”
Douglas: “I was running my route. … Just a miscommunication — both of us.”
DeMario Douglas said the game-ending interception was a "miscommunication" between him and Drake Maye.
"I was just running my route." pic.twitter.com/gat8i7feKG
— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) November 17, 2024
At first blush, it looked like Maye made the wrong decision.
Douglas split the safeties and went deep — which probably was the right move — while Maye, for some reason, thought Douglas would sit down on his route. And, judging from Douglas’ remarks, it sounds like he believes he ran the correct route.
Regardless, it was another ill-timed mistake in a crucial situation that resulted in the Patriots losing a game they could’ve won.
How Did Maye Perform in Patriots’ Loss?
Maye completed 30 of 40 passes for 280 yards and two scores while throwing one interception and losing a fumble.
It wasn’t perfect, and he was fortunate not to throw an end-zone interception midway through the third quarter. Maye also threw a few passes that put his receivers in harm’s way.
Still, you could argue this was Maye’s best game of the season, regardless of the two turnovers. The rookie quarterback otherwise was extremely impressive, especially during the first quarter.
From @ESPNStatsInfo: Drake Maye is the 1st Patriots QB with 100 passing yards a passing TD in an opening quarter since Tom Brady on Oct. 21, 2019 at the Jets.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 17, 2024
Notably, Maye made big plays despite being limited to three rushes for 27 yards. The Rams succeeded in preventing Maye from scrambling for big gains, but Maye accepted the challenge and put on the best pocket-passing performance of his career.
When forced to leave the pocket, Maye did a great job of keeping his eyes downfield and either finding receivers at the last minute or throwing the ball away. Overall, Maye earned a C (74.6) Pro Football Metric QB+ Metric grade.
Maye and the Patriots will look to get back in the win column next Sunday when they visit the Miami Dolphins.