This is a tough one for Drake Maye and the New England Patriots to swallow.
In what was a 13-10 loss to the defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks — who New England lost to in Super Bowl LX — in the 2026 NFL season opener on Wednesday night, Maye threw three interceptions.
Moreover, his last pick came with 21 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, with the Patriots being in position to at least attempt a game-tying, 33-yard field goal. Instead, Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe pulled off a top-tap interception of Maye in the end zone on third-and-5 from the 16-yard line. Game over.
Maye took all the blame for the loss.
“I think we had the game under control. I thought we had a good plan to try to start chipping away and be patient, and I lost patience and costed us,” Maye said after the game. “I think it was decisions that cost us the game on my end. I vow to myself to be better and realize that it’s a long season but, at the same time, you can’t have those.
“It’s unacceptable, and I know I got to get back to work because that wasn’t how I play football and how I want to represent my game and playing quarterback for the Patriots.”
Maye finished the night with 178 passing yards, one passing touchdown, three interceptions and a 54.9 passer rating, while completing 69.7% of his passes (23 of 33) and rushing for 47 yards on 6.7 yards per carry.
New England lost star wide receiver and premier offseason acquisition A.J. Brown to an ankle injury in the third quarter. Granted, Seattle lost starting quarterback Sam Darnold to a hip injury on its first possession of the game and Drew Lock steered the ship to victory, posting a 113.3 passer rating and completing 72.7% of his passes (16 of 22).
As for the last time Maye went up against the Seahawks, the now-third-year quarterback threw for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Patriots’ Super Bowl XL loss to Seattle, while posting a 79.1 passer rating, completing 62.8% of his passes (27 of 43) and rushing for 37 yards. In the regular season, Maye totaled 4,394 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 113.5 passer rating, while completing 72.0% of his passes. He also rushed for 450 yards and four touchdowns.
Maye, who was the runner-up for the 2025 NFL MVP Award, led the NFL in passer rating and completion percentage, but he then posted an 82.2 passer rating and completed just 58.3% of his passes over New England’s four postseason games.
Next up for Maye and the Patriots is a home matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 20.
