Drake Maye finished the 2025 NFL regular season as an MVP frontrunner. He stumbled through the 2026 playoffs like a quarterback making his first postseason appearance.
Maye had to face a cavalcade of bruising defenses with an overmatched offensive line, leaving him vulnerable in the pocket. While he thrived against pressure in the regular season, the game sped up around him in a win-or-go-home situation. He turned the ball over thrice against the Houston Texans. He completed less than half his attempts and chalked up 65 net passing yards on a snowy afternoon in Denver.
And now he’s going to Super Bowl 60, because his defense was there to lift him up when the New England Patriots needed it the most.
INTERCEPTED BY CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ
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To be sure, there were mitigating circumstances. Cold, windy conditions became nearly unplayable as snow rolled in over Mile High Stadium. The Denver Broncos, having lost Bo Nix to a broken ankle, were forced to start a quarterback who hadn’t thrown a regular season pass in more than two years. After an encouraging start, Jarrett Stidham assured us he was still, deep down, Jarrett Stidham.
Ultimately, New England escaped because that defense slammed shut. A busted coverage allowed Christian Gonzalez to get beat for a 52-yard strike to Marvin Mims that set up Denver’s only points of the game. Take away that deep ball and the Broncos gained 129 net yards on 57 plays. That’s an absolutely brutal 2.3 yards per snap. After turning the ball over on downs early in the second quarter, Denver had eight drives to finish the game. Their longest drive from that point forward gained a grand total of 17 yards. It ended with a punt.
The Patriots had no standing in a game of field position. Denver started one drive at its own 49-yard-line and another at New England’s 33. The Broncos came away with zero points on those possessions.
The @Patriots tip the field goal and hold the lead!
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New England sacked Stidham thrice and hit him seven more times on 34 dropbacks. Stidham only completed four of 13 attempts under pressure. The run game Denver hoped would buoy its backup had a 29 percent success rate in the first half even before the ground was covered in ice and snow. It was clear, weather or no, we were in for a rock fight in the AFC title game.
This may not have been Plan A for the Patriots. But facing a diminished offense, it’s clear it was an option in head coach Mike Vrabel’s playbook.
Maye’s gameplan was evident from the outset. After fumbling four times in the Divisional Round, Vrabel dropped a simple directive on him; get rid of the ball. Maye’s 2.97 seconds from snap to throw, on average, ranked eighth-highest in the NFL in 2025. On Sunday that dropped to 2.46 seconds — about a quarter-second below the league average. He held the ball a bit longer in the second half as show rolled in, pass attempts dwindled and play-action was used as a stopgap to keep Nik Bonitto away.
This led to minimal gains — a day where Stefon Diggs turned five catches into 17 yards — before Maye got the green light to attack the middle of the field with his legs.
DRAKE MAYE SCRAMBLES FOR 28 YARDS
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Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/BX5fDEMzDz— NFL (@NFL) January 25, 2026
Maye had 65 rushing yards, none more important than the seven he picked up on third-and-six after the two-minute warning to seal a win (no Bronco had more net offensive, non-passing yards than Maye had on the ground). This made up for the fact windy, snowy conditions kept him from making the snappy out-routes and in-cutters he’d utilized so successfully in the regular season.
The Patriots’ passing game was effectively a non-factor in the second half. New England opted for a strategic throwaway and a handoff on third-and-10 in the fourth quarter of a game it led 10-7 (and with punter Bryce Baringer suffering through the worst game of his career). Take away a 31-yard Mack Hollins gain on a flea flicker and New England finished the second half with five total passing yards in the second half.
Maye’s 170 expected points added (EPA) on dropbacks was best in the NFL in 2025 by a significant margin. Against Houston, he dropped down to -8.7. In Denver he hit juuuuust about -10.4. In terms of passing impact he was somewhere between Spencer Rattler and Joe Flacco’s 2025 seasons his last two games. It didn’t matter. The Patriots made it back to the promised land anyway.
To be sure, the Patriots’ path to Super Bowl 60 hasn’t been fraught with peril. They won the AFC East with an assist from the league’s softest schedule by a wide margin. They avoided the conference’s recent MVP quarterbacks (no Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson on the postseason schedule) and instead lined up dates against Justin Herbert (without either of his starting tackles), C.J. Stroud (utterly broken in the first half last week) and Stidham (is Jarrett Stidham). After averaging nearly 29 points per game in the regular season they’re at 18 in the playoffs thanks, in large part, to a smothering array of opposing defenses.
It didn’t matter. The New England Patriots’ long drought is over. Six year olds from Penobscot to Woonsocket will finally realize the dream of seeing a Patriots Super Bowl in their lifetime. But with Maye struggling, New England will likely get there as a legitimate underdog for the first time in a long, long time.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Patriots defense picked up Drake Maye (again)