Drake Maye Delivers in the Snow, Sends Patriots to Super Bowl LX
DENVER - With the snow swirling and the season hanging in the balance, Drake Maye didn’t blink.
It was third-and-5 at the Patriots’ 41-yard line, less than two minutes left in the AFC Championship, and the Broncos crowd at Mile High was roaring, trying to will their defense into one last stop. But Maye had other plans - ones that would punch New England’s ticket to its 12th Super Bowl.
The sophomore quarterback took the snap from under center and sold a play-action fake to the right. Then he peeled off to the left on a designed bootleg - a gutsy call in brutal conditions.
The footing was treacherous, the visibility worse, but Maye kept his balance and his poise. Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss had the angle, but Maye had the edge.
He turned the corner, accelerated up the sideline, and dove past the sticks before Elliss could bring him down. Game over. Patriots win, 10-7.
That single play - a quarterback keeping it on a bootleg in a snow-globe setting - was the final stamp on one of the most improbable turnarounds in recent NFL memory. After back-to-back 4-13 seasons, New England is heading to the Super Bowl.
Let that sink in.
This Patriots team wasn’t supposed to be here. Not this soon.
Not in these conditions. Not against a Broncos defense that had been lights-out all postseason.
But they are, and it’s because of a quarterback who’s growing up fast, a defense that refuses to bend, and a coaching staff that has leaned into toughness and belief.
Maye didn’t light up the stat sheet in this game - no one really could in that weather - but he made the plays that mattered. And that third-down scramble wasn’t just a first down.
It was a statement. A statement that the Patriots are back, and they’re not just sneaking into the conversation - they’re crashing the party.
Next up: the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, set for Feb. 8 in Santa Clara. Two teams that weren’t expected to be here, now playing for everything.
It’s been a season of redemption in Foxborough. And thanks to a perfectly executed bootleg in the snow, it’s not over yet.