Pats Pulpit
Sunday was a rollercoaster ride for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye began the day building off his strong start to the season, completing nine of his first 13 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. But after a disastrous strip sack to end the first half, Maye looked hesitant at times and went just 10-of-16 for 102 yards and an interception from that point on — while also being responsible for handful of the six sacks throughout the afternoon.
Still, Maye’s 259 passing yards were the most the Falcons, who entered the week as the top-ranked pass defense in football, allowed all season while he still made his usual tight-window and explosive throws. All-in-all, it was enough to secure a 24-23 W, but Maye knows he can — and needs to be — better moving forward.
“I’ve just got to play better. I’ve got to play better for this team down the road,” he shared after the game. “It’s tough, it’s tough in a game where you win and you can feel in that locker room that these guys know we can play better. I think it’s a good feeling to have, but also at the same time it’s tough to win in this league, so you’ve got to enjoy it.“
Here’s how he got those results on Sunday.
2-10-ATL 49 (10:07) D Maye scrambles right end to ATL 37 for 12 yards (A. Terrell). Maye’s first impact play of the game came with his legs on Sunday. Running a staple concept (HOSS Juke), Atlanta covers both seams while a pair of linebackers playing zone takes away Diggs over the middle, forcing Maye to step up in the pocket with two hands on the football before stiff arming a defender en route to picking up 12 yards.
“I tried to cut back. Like I said, cutting back is probably not in my repertoire. I need to get down,” Maye said about the end of the play. “I just revert back to my natural instincts in the open field, but yeah, I need to get down.”
2-9-ATL 17 (7:48) D. Maye pass deep left to D. Douglas for 17 yards, TOUCHDOWN. After a 19-yard gain on a downfield screen to TreVeyon Henderson, the Patriots found themselves in the high red zone on their opening drive. That’s where Josh McDaniels went to work, aligning Henderson in the slot to Maye’s right and DeMario Douglas in the backfield. The setup resulted in Douglas matching up one-on-one backside in man coverage against linebacker Jalon Walker — an easy matchup for Douglas. Running the wheel route, the speedster gains a step and Maye drops one perfectly in the bucket for six.
1-10-NE 35 (0:29) D. Maye sacked at NE 33 for -2 yards (L. London). After a second drive three-and-out, Maye began to ride the rollercoaster on drive No. 3. That started with a first-down sack — the first of six sacks on the day. But, as was...
