2 hours ago
1
FOXBOROUGH — While it wasn't the cleanest or prettiest game by Drake Maye on Sunday night, the New England Patriots quarterback did just enough to help the team get the win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round.
And on Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel took a moment to praise Maye for the way he responded to one tough moment.
Advertisement
In the first quarter, Maye's pass intended for Austin Hooper was tipped and ultimately intercepted, giving Houston the ball inside the Patriots' 10-yard line. However, the defense came away with a big stop, with the Chargers going for it on fourth down, resulting in a turnover. And with that, Maye took the field again, but was starting on New England's two-yard line, with 98 yards to go to make it to the end zone.
He wasted no time bouncing back, finding Rhamondre Stevenson on a checkdown that went for 48 yards.
"I give Drake [Maye] credit. We get one tip there trying to get it to a back; that gets intercepted. We come back the very next drive, we’re on the 2-yard line, and he's throwing that thing from his end zone, and they don't cover the back. They blitz, don't cover the back, don't cover Rhamondre. So, to me, that's like a long handoff, and that was a huge play in the game," Vrabel explained.
"For Drake to be able to come back and do that and say, ‘Hey, there's a guy that's standing here getting ready to jump up and bat the ball, and I'm going to make sure that I throw it around him,’ I thought was a big play. So, whether we hand it, whether we throw it, whether we throw it to Hunter, whether we throw it to [Stefon] Diggs, just clean execution. Then once that happens, we see guys transitioning, blocking, letting the identity take over. [We’ve got to] take care of the football better and all that other stuff."
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel praises Drake Maye for bouncing back after turnovers
English (US) ·