Drake Maye held himself responsible for the fourth-quarter interception

Patriots

“I think Dad did the right thing.”

Although both his head coach and teammate said the interception late in the game was a “miscommunication,” Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye disagreed.

The rookie placed the blame for the crucial mistake on his own shoulders. Asked after the 28-22 loss to the Rams about the turnover on the Patriots’ final drive, Maye made a case for his receiver on the play, DeMario Douglas.

“Yeah, it was a two-high (safety) look and Pop (DeMario Douglas) is in the middle, and they’re pretty good up front with a quick five,” Maye said of the Rams’ defensive approach. “I tried to put it on them a little bit and hit them over the linebacker a little bit, and Pop was probably thinking hard, but in the end I just had to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing. I think it was thing just needs to have more conversations.

“Just goes back to me during the week, doing more, talking about different situations, hey, I can put this one on you instead of letting it rip.” That’s it,” concluded the 22-year-old quarterback.

It was a disappointing result for Maye and New England, not just from a final score standpoint, but from a broader sense of the rookie’s continued development. Overall, Maye generated another solid performance for a first-year player. He finished the game 30 of 40 for 282 yards and two touchdowns.

Yet he was also responsible for two turnovers, including the interception at the end of the game.

Asked about his performance on Sunday, Maye said he had to prioritize patience in the passing game.

“Yeah, I think this week I’m just trying to be a passer,” he said. “I think we shouldn’t go out so early and just stop the football, be a scrambler and throw the ball upfield, and we have good players on the field, who just make decisions and just make the final interception.”

Overall, he remains optimistic about his (and his team’s) offensive growth.

“But I think we’re getting better week by week,” Maye said. “Proud of those guys who were up front, who competed, and we were able to run the football pretty well today. I think there are just a few things we need to take advantage of in the red zone.”

The Patriots finished Sunday with a season-high 382 total yards of offense, though the defense allowed 402 total yards (the third time they allowed more than 400 total yards in a game in the 2024 season).