TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye PostGame Press Conference 12/21

Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say following their win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night:

On the fact they were in a similar position to last week with five minutes to go, 1st-and-10 from their own 11 and how good it felt to put a drive together:

“Yeah, so proud of this team, man. It took everybody. That’s what we knew coming into it. Our goal this week was win together. Man, it was together. It felt good getting that one. I think just props for these guys. Keep fighting. We got guys going down, guys coming in, taking more plays than probably I’ve ever had, and guys getting tired and pushing through, and defense stepping up, making big plays, forcing fumbles. We talk about things all week, and we hit some of them. Obviously, there’s some things that I’d like to have back, but right now, it just feels good to get a win.”

On what it means to clinch a playoff spot:

“Yeah, that was one of the goals. You try to win the division, and that’s still kind of what we’re fighting for. It’s awesome to clinch the playoffs, but we want to win the division.”

On what it means not only to clinch a playoff spot, but also his thoughts on the way they were able to do it:

“I think just how the game went. There’s plays and times where I feel like I put the team in a bad spot and took points away in the red zone and past the 50. It’s what it is. It’s just bouncing back and next man up and going out the next drive and trusting your guys around you. At another away environment with a loud crowd and a good defense. Felt like the guys, a lot of trust and belief in that huddle. I was just was confident and was trying to let it rip. Those guys were making some plays.”

On Stefon Diggs’ performance:

“Diggs, people have no idea what he means to this team. He’s a leader. He’s been great in the locker room. He wants the football in his hand.”

On the fact that started in the first game at Buffalo…

“Yeah, deservingly so. He just keeps showing up and making plays, and he’s doing it at a really high level, and he’s just bouncing back and vocal, and he’s awesome to play with.”

On the fact that this was his first 300yd game and a fourth quarter come back and what that means to him:

“I care about winning. I care about winning, and if that was what it takes, then hopefully I’ll try to do whatever it takes. And that’s what I’m trying to do for this team. I won’t change that, no matter if it’s 500 yards or 40 yards, whatever it does to win the game.”

On how did last week’s loss impact what happened tonight:

“Yeah, I think it was kind of a wake-up call last week. We got a chance to win the game with a game-winning drive. And this week, it was like, ‘Man, let’s not have that same feeling two weeks in a row.’ And I felt like that. It was kind of the elephant in the room, going out there on that last one, once the defense got the ball back. Like I said, it’s just trust and belief. I like our chances when we’re in those scenarios. I like our chances.”

On the fact coach Vrabel said this was a good game for them to go through, and what was new and good for him to experience here tonight:

“Just being down. I feel like we’ve been up a lot and trying to play with the lead a lot this whole season, just being down in the fourth quarter and having a must-need shutdown drive. That feeling is good. I think just … What else was new? Just seeing guys left and right, new faces in the huddle. I’m not even sure how many different people we had in the huddle out of 11, probably had like 100 combinations. I wasn’t even blinking an eye with whoever came in the huddle. Those guys practice hard, and I believe in them, and trust. Freaking put the ball in the fullback’s hip and fumbled it. There’s just things in this game that make me want to punch the wall. So just glad we got the win.”

On how much of it was a mental battle with guys going down, he got hit a lot by them tonight and everything else:

“Yeah, it’s mental. That’s what this league is. It’s mental, especially in my position. It’s physical, but it’s a lot of mental as well. We talk about offense all the time. It’s all eleven of us, eleven us every play for a touchdown run or the guys blocking up front to hit a route down the field and guys breaking tackles. I feel like a lot of different players had a reception and trying to spread the ball around. They were blitzing us from different angles and bringing cover zero some and dropping out and doing some good stuff on defense. But props to them for a great match and a great team and a great game.”

On the fact that in the fourth quarter, it seemed like there was a lot of MVP chants coming from the fans and what it was like to have that support from the Patriots fans, even on the road:

“It felt like … Credit to Baltimore for a great home environment, but it felt like a lot of Pats Fans were in the stadium. Props to us. We travel great. I say that time and time again, we travel great, and we’re giving them something to travel for, and that’s what we try to do. They’re huge for us. Sometimes I’m sitting on the sideline when the defense is up, and we make a play, and we hear loud cheers, and you’re not sure if it’s offense or defense. It’s New England Patriots. It’s New England area. It’s the Boston sports. I don’t expect anything less from our fans, and they show out every week.”

On the fact the passing offense has been down a little bit against man coverage, and the fact they had a couple of X-rays, a touchdown against man-to-man tonight, and what the significance is of that:

“Yes, the guys winning routes in man coverage. It’s being physical at the top. It’s getting good releases. It’s me making good throws, ball placement. They showed up-time and time again. Those guys have really took it to heart of it being disrespectful when they try to play us in man. That’s the approach you need. There’s some great guys that are going to win sometimes. You saw them win sometimes on some incompletes, but more times than not, I like our guys. ”

On how important was tonight in terms of his overall development and the fact he saw everything from making a couple of mistakes, the defense, the environment, and how big was tonight in terms of the games he’s played so far?

“Yes, it’s just another game for a great experience for me to experience times where I wasn’t probably seeing it great, wasn’t making great throws, threw a couple in the dirt. From there, just battling back and having the have the confidence in myself and the confidence in the guys around me. The guys were supporting me all game. The sideline, in the huddle, I feel like it never got down. They guys still kept belief over there. Hope we’ll continue that. We’re going to need a game like this, probably again down the road.”

On the fact they won four games last year, now they’re 12-3 and have made the play-offs and how does a turnaround like that happen:

“I think it’s top down. I think it’s Coach Vrabel coming in here. It’s the coaching staff he hired. It’s the guys buying in and believing in what we do. That’s the biggest thing that is a locker room. It’s believing in what the coach is saying, believing in our identity, carrying it, traveling with us, he always says pack our identity. Just another big win on the road, and it starts at the top down. The guys, we just love a lot of guys in that locker room. I’ll talk to a lot of those guys, probably for a long time in my life.”

On the the fact he loves to play the game and how he was able to do what he did with five minutes to go, and how much fun was that:

“Yeah, you take it for granted, man. You take it for granted. What a beautiful sport. The best sport out there, this game. It’s brutal. There’s times where injuries and losses that weigh on you. But this winning feeling, there’s nothing like it. Coach reminded us that pregame. He said, ‘You can’t buy that back.’ Winning in that locker room. At his age, he always says, ‘I wish I could suit up again.’ You just can’t buy that. He said, ‘You can buy anything else in life, but you can’t buy this time we’re in right now, and what a time it is.’ Looking forward to celebrating these guys and just props to them. Man, just thank the good Lord. What a position I’m in in my life. Just stay strong in my faith, and good things happen.”

(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.)

About Ian Logue

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.

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