Drake Maye’s first Super Bowl appearance ended with a lopsided loss to the Seattle Seahawks and a postgame revelation about just how far he had to push his body to be on the field.
Two weeks after injuring his right shoulder in the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots quarterback confirmed he took a painkilling injection before kickoff in Santa Clara, raising new questions about how compromised he was in New England’s 29-13 defeat.
Patriots QB Drake Maye Played Through Shoulder Injury at Super Bowl 60
Maye arrived at the postgame podium clearly battered. He sat in a sleeveless white shirt, his right shoulder covered in red blotches that mirrored the punishment he had taken behind a struggling offensive line.
Asked how the shoulder felt after the game, Maye acknowledged he wasn’t feeling much of anything in that arm. “My shoulder feels, um, they shot it up so… not much feeling. It was good to go and felt alright,” Maye told reporters postgame.
The injury dates back to the Patriots’ AFC Championship win over the Denver Broncos, when Maye injured his throwing shoulder. In the immediate aftermath, he was listed as limited in practice and missed New England’s Friday session before the team flew west.
Drake Maye on his throwing shoulder: “My shoulder feels…I shot it up so…not much feeling. It was good to go.” pic.twitter.com/WZ98Dctzva
— Elliott Pohnl (@ElliottPohnl) February 9, 2026
Once the Patriots arrived in California, he was upgraded to full participation in all three practices in Santa Clara, and both Maye and the team repeatedly downplayed the issue throughout the lead-up to Super Bowl 60.
On Sunday night, the hits piled up. The Seahawks’ defense overwhelmed New England’s protection, sacking Maye 6 times and registering 11 quarterback hits. He finished 27-of-43 for 295 yards with 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a lost fumble, accounting for 3 turnovers on a night when he was under constant pressure.
Even if the shoulder was less than 100 percent, the bigger problem for the Patriots was their inability to keep rushers off their quarterback.
Maye himself resisted using the injury as any kind of excuse. He reiterated that, after the injection, he felt well enough to play and did not believe the shoulder should be a decisive factor.
“I was feeling good enough to be out there,” he said. “If I’m out there, I wouldn’t put the team in harm’s way to not be myself. Just didn’t make the plays tonight.”
MORE: ‘It Hurts’ — Drake Maye’s Heartbreaking Response to Losing Super Bowl 60
That comment reflected his approach over a standout second NFL season in which he earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors and led the league in passer rating and completion percentage. He ranked 2nd on PFSN’s QBi Metric, with an impact score of 91.1.
Leading up to Super Bowl 60, the Patriots publicly presented the shoulder as manageable. In reality, Maye required a painkiller injection in his throwing arm on game day just to feel ready to go.
For now, any decisions about further evaluation or potential offseason treatment will come after the sting of a Super Bowl loss and the revelation of what it took for their franchise quarterback to play through the injury.
