Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say following their win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday:
On the win today:
“No, shoot, it’s huge. Anytime. Coach just said, you got to celebrate winning this league, no matter how it is, no matter how much we could have played better and how much we left out on the plate. But the Saints are a good team. They have some good players, and they played hard, and it was tough playing here at their place. Just proud of the guys for coming out with a win. Good to get out of here and get on next week.”
On what it means to him with the game on the line, 3rd-and-11, obvious passing situation, the safe thing for him to do is just hand it off, but they put the ball in his hands and they trust he’ll make the right decision and put the team in a position [to win]:
“Yeah, it’s just about making good decisions. I think it’s just trying to prove it over and over again. You know, be consistent in doing that and knowing to be smart with the football. I think that’s the biggest thing in that situation is try to get a first down, safe throw to the sideline, and what a play by Boutte. It felt right being back home for him.”
On the fact he said during the offseason he was tired of losing football games. He’s won three in a row now, two on the road and what does it feel like now as it feels like he’s becoming one of the leaders here after seeing Diggs working the sideline with Kayshon showing up big on some of the catches there and just spreading the ball around:
“Yeah, shoot, we got more work to do. I think that’s the big thing, but it feels good getting in the win column consistently. That’s three in a row. We got to keep going and building on it. We’re on the road again. But no, it feels good to win. It feels good to win on the road. It’s always nice to win on the road. Like I said, just trying to step up leadership-wise. The defense covered our butts in the second half. They played their butts off.”
On what he saw on the OPI:
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure. I was, I think, on the ground. I thought just try to give him a chance. I thought that and the… I think the other one was offensive PI with Pop’s [Douglas], second touchdown. I’m not sure what the case was, but yeah, just unfortuante. I think, shoot, that stuff happens. I think Stef maybe gave him a little something, but I was on the ground. Couldn’t really see.”
On the fact they got the deep passing game going a little bit today and what was it like to push the ball down the field a little bit:
“We had some chances. Again, I got to give Mack the ball on the long third down and have some more chances to push the ball down the field. I think just being diverse and being able to do a lot of different things, hit him short and make them come up, and then you can hit some deep ones. So it was good to hit some deep shots and those guys made some great plays.”
On him mentioning the OPI that was nullified on the touchdown and how significant it was to still come out of that drive, the Boutte touchdown, and what did he see:
“I think it was huge. It was a really late call. We were almost on the sideline. I was about to sit down. But I think just coming back and battling and picking up a couple of consistent drives in the first half. Then Boutte with a great play in the back of the end zone, just trying to give him a chance on one-on-one. One-on-one is open in this league, and you got to know that. We left some out there coming out of the half in the second half, first drive. That was a bummer, but you got to keep going.”
On Kayshon coming back here and how good is it to see that?
“Yeah, offensively, him and Will [Campbell]. It was cool seeing them do their thing. Big ovation. I saw Will walking off the field with some cheers. That was cool to see. It was special coming home. I haven’t been back to Charlotte yet, but it’s always special coming home. So much memories. I think Will said to me earlier this week, he was there for… He said Stef broke his heart on the Minneapolis miracle or whatever down the sideline. So it was cool to get a win for them.”
On the Patriots having been a team that’s always traveled well with the fans, and to leave the field in a road stadium, and he has a wonderful number of fans that….
“Yeah, that’s sweet. I’ll probably need to give them some more, some energy pump them up. But it’s awesome seeing how well we travel, how many fans come out to the games as it should be. I think it’s the best sports city in the world, in Boston. So we expect to travel well, and we’ll finally give them something to travel for.”
On if there was any part of them that wanted to go out there and prove that last week against Buffalo wasn’t just a one-off:
“No, we just want to keep building momentum. I think that’s the biggest thing. Week to week, and don’t just show up and linger on last week’s big win, and let this one come beat you. So I think that was huge to get a win here and we got to keep going and keep building them.”
On the goal line situation when they had some problems with the running game and down on the goal line, and how much is it to get a win, but also come away with teachable moments:
“Yeah. Can’t take a delay of game. That’s a huge four-point swing. Just mad at myself. I usually do a good job of watching the clock. Just can’t have that. Other than that, it’s a lot of 300-pound men up there within two yards. It’s hard to get two yards. So just trying to get get the big guys going, and they’re playing their butts off. So it’s almost tough that when you get down there, the biggest plays are the ones at the end.”
On the fact that he’s sitting here with four games and the team won just four games last year, and his thoughts on that:
“Yeah, just go get win number five. That’s my only thought. I think last year’s in the past, and just trying to keep building, and hopefully we just keep showing up every week and being a tough team to play on the road. And winning at home is what we’re trying to build. So I think we’re on the way toward that.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
