Ethan Hurwitz: Impatient Drake Maye Crashed and Burned in Patriots Loss

SEATTLE — Drake Maye finished up his postgame press conference, walked into the New England Patriots visitors locker room and sat down. He remained there for a little bit, mostly in silence, a little chatter to backup Tommy DeVito.

The loss, another to the Seattle Seahawks, had stung.

The Patriots quarterback, fresh off three fourth quarter interceptions in a 13-10 loss to the Seahawks, was hard on himself behind the podium. The 24-year-old took the brunt of the blame, and deservingly so.

The first interception was the first real mistake of the night, as Maye tried to find Romeo Doubs down the left sideline. The second one, just one drive later, was a poorly thrown ball to DeMario Douglas down the middle of the field.

It was the third one — the costly game-sealing pick in the end zone — that will be the one Patriots fans look back on and grimace at. Instead of throwing it away, Maye forced a throw to Mack Hollins. It was picked off by Josh Jobe, and the Seahawks grabbed the win.

"It was just unacceptable," Maye said postgame. "We had a chance to send it (to) overtime at the worst. The only thing you could(n't) do is turn the ball over and that's what I did."

Maye admitted his play wasn't up to his standards. Part of that was because A.J. Brown had left one quarter prior with an ankle injury. Part of that was that he was up against the reigning Super Bowl champs in their own building.

Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But if Maye wants to take the year three leap that Patriots want him to, those plays are the absolute last thing you want to see. Yes, he's young. But he's coming into the season with Super Bowl aspirations and the qualifications to be named MVP. He didn't play like a veteran. He looked more like his rookie self.

His teammates, expectedly, had his back.

"It's not on one person at all. This is a team game, we win together and we lose together," running back Rhamondre Stevenson said. "I wouldn't pinpoint on one single person in that room. We all have to get better. Back to the drawing board like I said and figure it out."

New England can't afford that. Gone are the days where Maye can sit back and play like a deer in headlights. After all, he was just playing in the Super Bowl. He's the cornerstone of a team that has championship aspirations, and the inexperienced card (while still a conversation point) can't be the fallback argument.

He admitted it himself he lost patience. The Patriots had a 10-0 lead, and while the offense was far from sparkling, it had done enough solid things to potentially sneak out of the Pacific Northwest with a victory.

But Maye threw it away.

"I just stopped being patient. That was the big thing," he said. "We were patient and dumping it off and trying to move the chains and we avoided a lot of three-and-outs and that was something we try to earn more plays and the explosives will come, so just stopped being patient and made decisions that ended up, like I said, cost us the game."

This won't stop Maye from being great this season. His athleticism and arm strength will carry him a long way. But if the Patriots actually want to see Maye take the next step towards becoming a superstar, it will come by way of his patience.

Extra Points:

Maye's game-losing interception was a bad decision. But when you factor in the situation the Patriots were in, it becomes even worse. According to ESPN Stats, Maye is the first quarterback since Kyler Murray in 2021 to throw a pick down by three points with less than a minute and inside the opposing 20-yard line. Keep the ball out of Seattle's hands, and the Patriots likely send the game to overtime.

Postgame, Maye made reference to the fact that the final throw was meant to be a quick pass. Both offensive tackles (Will Campbell, Morgan Moses) cut their defenders, indicating that the ball should have gone out a lot faster. Instead, pressure forced Maye into a snap decision and the rest is history.

You know who did play well? Campbell. He had a lot to prove after a bad Super Bowl showing against this same defense. He looked really good at the point of attack, allowed just one pressure on 44 offensive snaps and was vocal about wanting to prove to his coaches that he was still good after last year.

Romeo Doubs was targeted three times and didn't record a catch in his Patriots debut. Like Maye, he spent a long time sitting at his locker quietly postgame. The biggest play he was involved in could have changed the game. Doubs dropped a wide open crosser, and one play later, Maye threw his second interception. If Doubs catches that, who knows what would have happened.

A lot is said about the crowd noise in Seattle. After my first experience hearing it live in person, it is no joke. It didn't matter if it was a game-sealing interception, a first down in the first quarter or a highlight reel prior to kickoffs. It was loud, loud, loud. For several reasons, I'm sure the Patriots will be glad to return home next week.

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