With a visit to Tremendous Bowl 2026 on the road, Drake Maye referred to as a silent audible.
The second-year Patriots quarterback determined to maintain the ball himself on a third-and-5 on the New England 41-yard line with 1:57 left within the fourth quarter, regardless of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels calling for a handoff to Rhamondre Stevenson, based on the Boston Herald.
Maye, the 23-year-old MVP candidate, went for the bare bootleg and, with the assistance of a stiff-arm, outran Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss for a 7-yard rush to select up the primary down and seal a 10-7 victory within the AFC Championship sport in snowy Denver because the Broncos had been out of timeouts.
“I hit my block, and all of the defenders began operating the opposite method,” Patriots middle Garrett Bradbury advised the Boston Herald. “I’m like, ‘What? Oh my God.’”
“After the sport, Drake’s like, ‘I debated telling you guys if I used to be gonna (hold) it or not. However I simply determined to not,” Bradbury added.
Maye gave solely a touch at what he noticed from the Broncos’ protection that made him resolve to maintain the ball.
“In some unspecified time in the future, they get lackadaisical and acquired an opportunity to get across the edge,” Maye stated. “I believed [Elliss] was gonna monitor me and hawk me down, however acquired sufficient to select up the primary. Coach Vrabs [Mike Vrabel] will in all probability get mad about operating out of bounds, however at that time, it doesn’t matter whenever you get the primary down.
Maye struggled passing because the climate worsened within the second half, ending 10-for-21 with 86 yards, however he had 10 rushes for 65 yards and a second-quarter landing run that tied the sport.
He would be the second-youngest quarterback to ever begin a Tremendous Bowl, simply behind Dan Marino.
Maye, whom the Giants tried to commerce as much as draft earlier than the Patriots chosen him No. 3 general in 2024, had 4,394 yards passing, 31 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a league-best 72 completion proportion through the common season because the Patriots went 14-3 to win the AFC East and nab the No. 2 seed.
The Patriots tackle the Seahawks in Tremendous Bowl 2026 on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif.
