Drake Maye’s Super Bowl Debut Turns Painful in Patriots’ Loss to Seahawks
SANTA CLARA - Super Bowl 60 was supposed to be a showcase for one of the league’s most promising young quarterbacks. Instead, it turned into a harsh learning experience for Drake Maye and the New England Patriots.
The second-year signal caller battled through a sore shoulder and a relentless Seahawks defense, but the growing pains were evident. Maye took hit after hit, struggled with accuracy, and turned the ball over three times in the second half as Seattle pulled away for a convincing 29-13 win at Levi’s Stadium.
The Patriots didn’t get on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. By then, the Seahawks had dictated the tempo, the tone, and the outcome.
Maye, just 23, didn’t shy away from the moment after the game. He stood at the podium, visibly emotional, knowing full well how much his mistakes had cost his team.
“Those plays that you can change the game matter,” Maye said. “And if you make them, you’re celebrating. If you don’t, you’re sitting here, you’re crying out at the podium.”
It was a raw and honest admission from a young quarterback who’s already shown flashes of brilliance this season. But on the biggest stage, the margin for error shrinks, and Maye learned that the hard way.
A Game of Missed Opportunities
Seattle took a 9-0 lead into halftime, and while New England’s defense kept things manageable early, the offense couldn’t find a rhythm. Maye missed open receivers, the protection broke down, and the Patriots couldn’t sustain drives.
Then came the turnovers.
Late in the third quarter, with the Patriots still within striking distance, Maye fumbled deep in his own territory. Byron Murphy jumped on it at the New England 37.
Five plays later, Sam Darnold found AJ Barner in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. Just like that, it was 19-0.
It felt like the knockout punch. But to his credit, Maye didn’t fold.
On the very next drive, he bounced back with a quick three-play, 75-yard march capped by a 35-yard strike to Mack Hollins. It took just 57 seconds.
Suddenly, there was a flicker of life.
That flicker didn’t last long.
With just under nine minutes to play, Maye tried to force a deep ball into the middle of the field. It was more hope than precision - and Seahawks safety Julian Love read it all the way, camping under it like a punt returner and picking it off with ease. He brought it back to the Patriots’ 38-yard line, and Seattle turned it into three more points - Jason Myers’ fifth field goal of the night, a Super Bowl record.
“You live, you learn, and the losses, they hurt,” Maye said. “You try to learn when you win, and try to remember this feeling when you lose.”
Vrabel Shoulders the Blame - But Maye Knows the Weight
Head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t let the blame fall squarely on his young quarterback. He made it clear: this was a team loss.
“We can sit here and try to put it all on one guy,” Vrabel said. “You’ll be disappointed, because that’ll never happen.
It starts with us as a coaching staff… and then obviously we have to be able to execute, we have to be able to protect… and then [Maye’s] gotta be better. That’s just how it goes.”
Vrabel’s message was clear - the quarterback is part of the equation, but not the whole story. Still, Maye’s final turnover will be the one that sticks in his mind for months to come.
With 4:37 left and the Patriots at Seattle’s 44-yard line, Maye was flushed from the pocket and tried to make something happen. Instead, he threw it right to Uchenna Nwosu, who took it 45 yards the other way for a pick-six.
That made it 29-7. Game over.
Maye would lead one more scoring drive to close the gap, but the damage was done.
A Painful First Step on a Bigger Journey
There’s no sugarcoating a Super Bowl loss, especially one where the offense struggles this much. But for Maye, this is a chapter - not the whole story.
“There’s plays that I’ll think about for the next probably seven months until we’re back in September,” Maye said. “There’s really nothing more to say than make plays when they’re there. And that’s the difference between teams that are sitting home watching tonight, and the difference between us losing tonight and them celebrating.”
It was a tough night for the Patriots and a humbling one for their young quarterback. But if Maye’s response is any indication, he’s not going to let this be the final word.