With nothing but field goals lighting up the scoreboard over the first 50 minutes and 15 seconds of Sunday night's wild-card game, Drake Maye finally flexed that MVP form in one beautiful throw.
Off a play-action fake, Maye quickly saw Hunter Henry breaking to the end zone and delivered a pinpoint shot over an outstretched Derwin James into his tight end's grasp for the first and only touchdown of a 16-3 New England Patriots wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Maye and the Patriots won ugly in New England's first postseason victory since Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, 2019. However, with the Patriots leading, 9-3, in the fourth quarter, Maye's six-pointer to Henry for a 28-yard score put the game away.
"Proud of this team," Maye said after the win. "We never doubted it. It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. But this defense was so fun to watch. Congrats to them. It was so fun to watch. They won the game for us. I didn't throw it very well tonight. Need to be better. We did what we had to do and that's what it takes in the playoffs. Just proud of this team. That was fun to get one at home and [I] look forward to being back here next week."
Maye and the Patriots will host the winner of Monday's Houston Texans-Pittsburgh Steelers game next Sunday.
As Maye won his playoff debut, his counterpart, Justin Herbert, fell to 0-3 in the playoffs, thanks in large part to a swarming Patriots defensive showing that held L.A. to 207 total yards and racked up six sacks.
Though this was a game essentially defined by defensive play, Maye's outing was hardly ho-hum. He completed 17 of 29 passes for 268 yards, the TD and an interception, while leading the Patriots ground game with 66 yards on 10 carries.
Maye's first playoff game became the first time in Patriots franchise chronicle in which a player had 250-plus passing yards and 50-plus rushing yards in a postseason contest, per NFL Research. He's just the fourth player in NFL history to pull off the feat, joining Daunte Culpepper (2000), Lamar Jackson (2019) and Josh Allen (2019).
"I thought he came through when we needed him," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said of Maye's night. "The tipped pass is unfortunate that turned into an interception, but the throw to Hunter, I thought when we needed him, was elite."
It was a rather auspicious start for Maye. The Patriots punted after a 14-yard first drive, with a Maye incompletion and a sack leading to a punt. On his ensuing drive, Maye's first pass of the possession was tipped and intercepted by Daiyan Henley, setting the Chargers up at the Pats' 10-yard line.
New England forced a turnover on downs with its back against the wall, and Maye and the offense responded with a 93-yard field goal drive.
He led three field goal drives in all. Maye had the Patriots offense moving against a stingy Chargers defense but finding pay dirt eluded New England. Until Maye found Henry, anyway.
"It was great scheme, great design by Josh (McDaniels), great timing," Henry said. "Something we work on. Obviously, they're a very predominantly zone team, and they played zone, just caught them. Drake threw a great ball. They blitzed a guy, I just saw, up the middle. TreVeyon (Henderson) made a big-time block up the middle right there to give Drake a little extra time. It takes all 11 guys. Kyle (Williams), his speed out there is a threat, and guys have to really respect. He ran a great route, and they had to respect him. It takes all 11 guys. We were just able to execute in a big moment."
Maye was 4 of 4 on the only TD drive of the game, having done a complete about face after a first half marked by struggle. He was but 6 of 15 for 95 yards in the first half, which was rectified by a second half in which was 11 of 14 for 173 yards.
"It wasn't my best tonight, but hey, that's why you have teammates, and those guys picked me up," he said. "I never lost confidence, was still slinging it around."
The No. 3 overall selection of the 2024 NFL Draft, Maye didn't take the Patriots starting reins until Week 6 of his rookie campaign. Many worried Maye was being thrown to the wolves playing behind a porous offensive line. He still impressed, though, and in his second season has taken off.
He's an MVP candidate, a dual threat, and a 23-year-old rife with poise. It showed Sunday night, as a rough start didn't faze him. And now he's got some postseason experience -- and a playoff victory -- under his belt.
"I think the biggest thing that coach McDaniels said to us and the offense is you come to the stadium with that finality feel," Maye said of playing in the playoffs. "That it's win or go home or win and advance, and that's the kind of feeling you get. That's the biggest thing that I felt out there. And then from there, the teams are gonna be good. They had a great defense, had a great quarterback. We were the better team tonight. We made plays when we had to."
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