Drake Maye‘s Super Bowl debut turned from a dream to a nightmare in the blink of an eye. After the Seattle Seahawks dismantled the gameplan put up by Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots, the sophomore NFL sensation quarterback dropped a bold confession.
“What I’d like to have back? I’d like to go back to the beginning and redo it,” Maye confessed to reporters during his postgame media availability. “Obviously, so many plays you can decide and change the game.
“There’s a few plays in the first half where I though I could’ve made a better throw or make a better decision. And really it just comes down to who makes the plays and who doesn’t, and [the Seahawks] made plays tonight.”
Maye’s numbers in Super Bowl LX
Coming into the showdown with sky-high expectations set on him, Maye could never get going against the best defense in the NFL. Coming up against the Seahawks unit, dubbed “The Dark Side”, Maye unveiled his worst colors of the year in the biggest stage.
As Vrabel‘s Patriots were blown out of the water all night long by the Hawks, Maye finished the game with 27 completions out of 43 attempts, throwing for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
However, most of Maye’s success—if it can be called that—against Seattle was with Mike Macdonald’s defense on prevent formations late in the fourth quarter. New England had been held scoreless until the final frame. Moreover, Maye was sacked six times—tying a Super Bowl record—throughout the game, including a lost fumble.
The story behind Patriots-Seahawks
The Seahawks finally got their revenge on the Patriots, avenging Super Bowl XLIX. Now, the score is settled between New England and Seattle, with each side holding a Super Bowl win over the other.
For Maye, though, the success had by Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Pats offers him little relief. Still, Maye is only finishing his second year in the league. Right now, it’s hard for him to see the glass half-full, but there’s a lesson to be learned for Maye even after being dominated by the Seahawks. Rome wasn’t built in one day.
Comparisons to Tom Brady
For those wondering how many rings Tom Brady had won at Maye’s age, the answer is none. Brady hadn’t even made it to a Super Bowl. Still, Brady won his first ring at 24 (Maye is 23), which only means Maye has some work to do next season to catch up to the legacy of the greatest quarterback of all time.
Being drafted by the Patriots, Maye knew this was the shadow he would be chasing his entire time in Foxborough. It was the grand bargain—so far, the deal holds—but Maye will be put to the test once again next season.