The Patriots were in total control against the Seahawks on Wednesday night, but Drake Maye’s 4th-quarter performance not only let them back in the game, it sealed New England’s fate.
Maye completed 6 of 11 passes in the 4th quarter for just 53 yards and 3 interceptions. He was late on his first two 4th-quarter interceptions and then made a terrible decision on the game-sealing INT.
You can take a quick look at these throws below.
First INT - The Seahawks played quarter-quarter-half (cover-2 to the side of the throw). Maye took forever to unload the ball. I’m not sure what he saw because by the time he released it, the cover-2 safety was already moving towards his intended target. He was practically camping out under the ball, waiting for it to get to him:
Second INT - 3rd-and-14. The Seahawks again played quarter-quarter-half and walked the Will LB over the X receiver to the backside. He jammed that receiver inside-out. That gave the cornerback the ability to get over top and he didn’t need inside help from the safety to his side (Julian Love) as a result.
That freed up Love, who watched Maye the whole way and was able to jump the route at the right time. But Maye was again soooo late with this throw. By the time he was ready to release it, Love was already closing:
Third INT - This was simply inexcusable. Down 13-10, the worst case scenario is that you tie the game with a field goal. Maye has to throw that ball away.
He said after the game that he saw Mack Hollins in the back of the end zone and just didn’t get enough on it:
That’s no excuse, though. You just can’t just throw it up and be so reckless in that situation, to say the least.
We’ll see how Maye bounces back in Week 2.