Drake Maye thanks Patriots teammates for picking him up, ‘Wasn’t my best’

Drake Maye has his first playoff win under his belt, helping the New England Patriots take down the Los Angeles Chargers, 16-3, in the wild-card round. However, Maye wasn’t necessarily at his best in Sunday night’s game, and he knows it.

The second-year quarterback completed 17 of 29 passes for 268 yards, one touchdown, and one interception to go with an 86.8 passer rating. Maye also had 66 rushing yards on 10 carries.

While the final numbers look good, Maye and the Patriots had some struggles early on. They failed to reach the end zone until the fourth quarter, taking a 6-3 lead into halftime as Maye also fumbled on a drive where the Patriots made their way deep into Chargers territory in the third quarter.

With Maye having some playoff debut struggles on Sunday night, he was blunt in his assessment of his play on Sunday.

“Wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure,” Maye told reporters. “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 very well tonight. Need to be better. We did what we had to do.”

Maye was asked what he felt contributed to his poor throws early in Sunday’s game. He didn’t say what the issue was, but Maye thanked his Patriots teammates for picking him up.

“Just got to be better, whether it’s accuracy or ball placement or little things, making decisions faster,” Maye said when asked what was wrong with throws on Sunday, via WEEI contributor Tom Carroll. “Held onto the ball a little bit tonight. Finally got one in the end. I missed Hoop on a touchdown. Feel like I missed [DeMario Douglas] on a third down low. It wasn’t my best tonight. But that’s why you have teammates, those guys picked me up. Never lost confidence. Was still slinging it around. Kayshon [Boutte] made some big plays. Came after the ball twice on some big plays. That’s the thing about us, we spread it around, can do a lot of things.”

Drake Maye evaluating his own performance against the Chargers:

“…Wasn't my best tonight. But that's why you have teammates, those guys picked me up. Never lost confidence. Was still slinging it around…That's the thing about us, we spread it around, can do a lot of things.”… pic.twitter.com/O8WE0Qg6C6

— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) January 12, 2026

What Mike Vrabel said of Drake Maye’s play in Patriots win over Chargers

Similar to Maye, Mike Vrabel was honest about his quarterback’s downfall in Sunday’s game. However, he also made sure to give Maye credit where credit was due.

“We got to take care of the football,” Vrabel said when asked about Maye’s play on Sunday. “Thought he came through when we needed him. The tipped pass is something that was unfortunate. That turned into an interception. But the throw to Hunter [Henry] I thought when we needed him was elite.”

The touchdown pass Maye threw to Henry was certainly the highlight of the game for the Patriots’ offense. He threw a dime to Henry that went over the outstretched arm of Chargers safety Derwin James, with the tight end making the grab just short of the goal line before running into the end zone for a 28-yard score.

HUNTER HENRY MAKES IT A TWO-SCORE GAME

LACvsNE on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/MuIjMaqOpn

— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2026

That touchdown essentially served as the dagger for Sunday’s game, putting the Patriots up, 16-3. Now, the Patriots will turn to the Divisional Round, where they’ll host the winner of Monday’s Houston Texans-Pittsburgh Steelers game.

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