Drake Maye called it the elephant in the room.
Just one week after failing to complete a fourth quarter comeback drive despite two opportunities to do so vs. the Buffalo Bills, Maye was given the same opportunity Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens. This time, Maye delivered in a career performance leading a nine-play, 89-yard touchdown drive to secure a 28-24 road victory — clinching a playoff spot and his first-career fourth quarter comeback.
“It was kind of a wake-up call last week,” Maye
said. “This week, it was like, ‘Man, let’s not have that same feeling two weeks in a row.'”
The drive highlighted a dominant fourth quarter for Maye, who additionally led a seven-play, 73-yard touchdown march the drive before to cut the deficit to three points, as he finished the final quarter going 12-of-14 for 139 yards and a score.
He did so while under pressure on nearly 50 percent of his drop backs — a common theme throughout the night as Maye took the most hits in a single-game in his career.
“Just gritty. He got hit. They pressured. He just kept getting up and battling. He didn’t flinch,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think it was important for all of us to have that game — the entire team.”
Here are the top plays throughout the night that defined his performance.
Drive 1
(10:52) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep right to S.Diggs to BLT 26 for 25 yards (A.Gilman). On just his second drop back of the night, New England dials up a double-posts concept to Maye’s right while Stefon Diggs fills in on the backside crosser working left-to-right. The two vertical routes holds safety Alohi Gilman in his place just long enough to allow Maye to drive a ball to Stefon Diggs for a 25-yard explosive.
(6:37) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass short right intended for K.Boutte INTERCEPTED by M.Humphrey at BLT 4. M.Humphrey to BLT 4 for no gain (K.Boutte). To end that drive, Maye deals with immediate pressure off both tackles but handles it well as he rips through the pocket to escape to his right. He fires a ball low and behind Kayshon Boutte — perhaps due to a miscommunication as the receiver originally appeared to have the corner boxed out — which is intercepted near the goal line and takes three points off the board.
Drive 2
(12:47) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep middle to M.Hollins to BLT 27 for 20 yards (M.Humphrey). In a 7-0 deficit and facing 3rd-and-13, Maye wins with anticipation for an explosive gain to Mack Hollins. Baltimore eventually falls into a cover-two look against New England’s dagger concept with Diggs on the vertical and Hollins filling in underneath on the dig route. Maye begins to throw before Hollins has cleared the middle of the field defender, Kyle Hamilton, and then leads him a bit high but in stride into space for the chunk gain and a new set of downs.
(12:06) D.Maye pass deep right to A.Hooper to BLT 1 for 26 yards (A.Gilman) [B.Urban]. The very next play, New England dials up two verticals down the right sideline for their tight ends in a nub formation. While getting hit, Maye targets Austin Hooper working a seam one-on-one against a safety and a pretty back shoulder ball allows Hooper to go up and haul in a contested catch. The 26-yard gain set New England up at the one-yard line, where Maye went to fellow tight end Hunter Henry on a play-action bootleg with a delayed release for a touchdown.
Drive 3 & 7
Following the touchdown, New England’s offense managed just six points in the middle two quarters — in part due to another turnover by Maye (fumble) while in field goal range near the end of the first half. But, the QB still struck a pair of explosives to Stefon Diggs.
(9:05) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep middle to S.Diggs pushed ob at BLT 35 for 33 yards (N.Wiggins). As we discussed in last week’s Maye’s Plays, the Bills defense gave New England fits with their increased use of man coverage in the second half. It was a multi-week problem that the Patriots knew they would have to face head-on against a Ravens defense that ranked in the top-10 in man coverage rate.
Diggs, specifically, had some issues against Buffalo. But on this third-down, the veteran wins and creates easy separation before running away from cornerback Marlon Humphrey in man coverage. Maye stands in the pocket to find the receiver on the deep crosser for what ends as a 33-yard gain.
(2:57) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep middle to S.Diggs to NE 44 for 23 yards (A.Washington). While he won his fair share of man coverage matchups, Diggs also showed his savvy side by settling in zone voids throughout the night. Facing a 3rd-and-14 here in the third quarter, Diggs settles down in space instead of continuing to run his route into coverage. Maye then avoids more pressure off both edges to step up in the pocket and hit him for a 22-yard completion.
Drive 8
Trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, Maye methodically moved the football down the field behind five completions to four different pass catchers. He then struck the big play.
(9:07) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep right to K.Williams for 37 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
From the 37-yard line, New England dials up three vertical routes which sets Kyle Williams up on a go-ball against Marlon Humphrey. The rookie runs by the veteran corner and Maye absolutely drops one in the bucket to Williams, who also deserves credit for his tracking and concentration to make the difficult catch.
Throughout the night, Maye completed 4-of-5 deep passes for a career-high 111 yards and a touchdown, while his one incompletion came on a blatant defensive pass interference that was not called on a deep shot to Kayshon Boutte.
Drive 9
(5:02) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass deep right to M.Hollins to NE 31 for 20 yards (A.Gilman). Looking for his first-career fourth quarter comeback drive, Maye needed to drive New England 89 yards in just over five minutes. A big explosive started the possession, as Mack Hollins beats man coverage on a crossing route from the slot. Maye holds the deep safety by looking to his left before putting it on the money for a 20-yard gain to get the drive started.
(3:02) (Shotgun) D.Maye pass short left to S.Diggs pushed ob at BLT 27 for 21 yards (M.Starks).
Moving the ball just over midfield after not getting the aforementioned DPI drawn by Boutte, Maye and the offense faced a 4th-and-2 with just 3:02 remaining. Looking for his No. 1 pass catcher breaking out to the quarterback’s left, a pass threads the needle and gets too Diggs just before the defender is able to make a play on the ball.
“It’s a great ball,” Diggs said. “I ran a route, tried to put speed on him. Drake put it where I could get it and nobody else. The guy tried to undercut. I thought he was going to play through the man, so I tried to put my hands out. That’s exactly what happened.”
Diggs then has room to run and takes it 27 yards to set the offense up just outside the red zone, where Rhamondre Stevenson scores the game-winning touchdown two plays later.
