2 weeks Ago By Conor Ryan
By Conor Ryan Drake Maye landed on multiple highlight reels on Sunday with his last-second touchdown throw against the Titans to force overtime. Before hitting Rhamondre Stevenson in the end zone as time expired at Nissan Stadium, Maye used his legs to scramble and avoid several game-ending sacks. According to Next Gen Stats , Maye scrambled for 11.
82 seconds before Stevenson reeled in the catch — marking the second-longest time to throw on a TD pass in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016). The only play that was longer was Washington’s Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary in Week 8 against the Bears. DRAKE MAYE MAGICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!! 📺: FOX pic.
twitter.com/UvIB3dRi8k Maye’s mobility, arm strength, and resolve were all put on full display in the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon, with the 22-year-old QB pushing his team to the brink of a second-straight win. But it was all for naught.
After forcing overtime, New England could not seal the deal against the Titans — relinquishing a field goal on Tennessee’s lone drive of the extra frame before Maye ended the game with his second interception of the afternoon. It was a tough result for Maye and the Patriots, who were looking to build some momentum after beating the Jets at Gillette Stadium in Week 8. But the case could be made that New England shouldn’t have even gone to overtime against Tennessee — not if the Patriots opted to go with a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point after Stevenson’s touchdown catch.
Jerod Mayo and the Patriots opted to play it safe by kicking the extra point and taking their chances in overtime. But did Maye think that the Patriots should have rolled the dice and gone for the win instead? “Um, I was just trying to catch my breath,” Maye said of his thought process after Stevenson’s catch while speaking on WEEI’s “Afternoon Show” on Monday . “I think it was just tough.
So much emotion and so much energy that we brought on that long drive. I think we only started at the 50 [yard line], it was like 11 or 12 plays. So I was just so tired and exhausted — I think I ran to the sideline right after that.
So I think in hindsight, it’s easy to look back and say after a loss — but I think we made the right decision.” Mayo was also asked earlier on Monday during his WEEI appearance about any second-guesses that came with not opting for a two-point conversion. “We always stay ahead of the game, and that conversation happened long before the 12-second play,” Mayo said of the two-point conversion possibility .
“Again, I thought that was the best thing to do for our team. And honestly, either way, unless you execute the play, you’ll be criticized. “We [went] for two and we don’t get it a couple games ago, and this time we kicked the extra point.
I felt good. I felt like that was the right thing to do. So it’s not like I’m stuck either way.
It’s a combination of things that go into that decision.” Considering the fatigue level likely setting in at that point in the game, trotting Maye and New England’s offense back out on the field for what could have been a run-pass option (RPO) playcall in crunch time could have ended in disaster. As painful as Maye’s game-ending pick was in overtime, the rookie acknowledged that New England likely would have been shredded this week had the team let a chance to play for overtime slip through their grasp off of a failed two-point play.
“I think I would do the same thing,” Maye said of opting for the extra point. “So I think in hindsight, either way you look at it — if we go for it and we don’t win? Then everybody’s like, what are we doing?” Sign up for Patriots updates🏈 Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during football season. Conor Ryan Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.
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