The New England Patriots now sit at 2-7 after falling 20-17 in overtime to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. There were multiple opportunities thanks to some heroic efforts by rookie quarterback Drake Maye, but it wasn’t enough as several mistakes thwarted a comeback victory. Though the season already seems lost, there are still some positives to derive from this game’s performance.
Drake Maye Shines in Patriots Loss to Tennessee
Starting with some obvious negatives, both teams were incredibly sloppy on both sides with turnovers, miscues, and penalties. 18 total flags were thrown for both teams resulting in 125 penalty yards as it seemed there was a flag being thrown every other play. The Patriot’s defense had another underwhelming performance giving up 128 yards on 28 carries to Tony Pollard, and continuously let Tennessee’s offense march down the field when it counted most.
The game ended on a head-scratching Maye interception on a deep pass attempt to Kayshon Boutte, as Titans defensive back Amani Hooker undercut the ball and caught it to seal Tennessee’s victory. The decision was head-scratching because it happened on first down with over two minutes to play in overtime. Maye had also just run for a first down on the previous play, making the need to play hero ball and go for the home run feel even less necessary. Hooker himself was the hero for Tennessee having caught both of Maye’s interceptions on the day.
The biggest positive Patriots fans can derive from yet another loss is once again the flashy play of their young quarterback who almost single-handedly willed the team to victory. Sparing the two interceptions, Maye did virtually everything he could to lead his team to their third win of the season. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out that way, but there were plays Maye made late in the game that should give the team confidence in their young star. On the final play of regulation trailing 17-10, Maye used his mobility and pocket presence to buy time and loft a perfect ball to Rhamondre Stevenson in the endzone while falling, to tie the game and force overtime. That play alone is one most quarterbacks wouldn’t have the talent to make, and Maye as a rookie was able to pull it off in a big moment.
That said, Maye still deserves criticism for the final pass that resulted in the loss. The situation didn’t require him to play hero ball and go bombs away. He tried to do just that and unfortunately got burned. Hopefully, the kid can learn from it and avoid such a habit in the future, because his performance today outside of that mistake should instill sky-high optimism in the fanbase. It doesn’t seem the Patriot’s personnel can get much worse on the offensive side of the ball, leaving many wondering what Maye can do with a competent cast of weapons.
The concern for the defensive side of the ball remains because that was supposed to be the saving grace for this football team. Even though they are dealing with injuries, Josh Uche was traded, and Jabrill Peppers is in trouble with the law, you expected more from them against bad teams like Tennessee and they haven’t delivered. It seems what you can hope for right now as a fan is that the players and coaching staff can take these losses and grow from them heading into next year because it appears they’ll endure a lot more losing as the season continues.
Main Image: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
