Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say following the Patriots 42-10 blowout win over the Jets on Sunday:
On what his mindset was coming into this one and how pleased he was to have the precision and moving the ball around and getting the job done:
“Coach said, ‘Unfinished business.’ You want to go 8-0 on the road. That’d be something that we thought would be pretty cool. In this league, it’s hard to win on the road, and we accomplished that today. Just proud of the guys. We came out here, started fast, and didn’t stop from there. So just proud of the guys. That was a good one to get under our belt, and we still got another week next week to get back at it.”
On what was going so right for him today:
“I think one of the… coach, the play calling. Getting guys open, guys running the right routes at the top of the route with the right feel for zone. I feel like I was throwing it pretty good. From there, the guys up front keep on blocking their butts off and give me time to make plays, and extend plays, and find guys down the field.
On the fact he got his first snaps here last year, and can he just reflect on the player he is now, the franchise, the team this is now, even when he thinks back to that night:
“Yeah, I was thinking that in the fourth quarter. I remember my first action last year. It was pretty funny looking back. The stadium was pumped for that Thursday night game. It was kind of a full circle moment, just how far we’ve come and the flip side of things this year compared to last, and how much fun we’re having out there. Even had some fun last year when I got my first action, it was still pretty fun. But I think just shows in just try to be myself every day and don’t let anything change. From there, just trusting the Lord. That’s what’s gotten us here. Try not to change that.”
On the fact there’s a ‘next man up’ mentality, but to get this dominant of a performance with how many guys they were missing, just what does it say about this team today:
“Yeah, that’s this league. We talk about it all year, all week, and even all year. You only get so many opportunities in this league to make a first impression, to make a, ‘Hey, I’m stepping up for this guy this time,’ to make an impression. A lot of guys did that today and keep on doing it. So proud of the guys. Ben Brown coming in and V-Lowe [Vederian Lowe], they keep on playing great. Chiz getting in the end zone. That was pretty cool. He probably should have gotten in on the first one if he didn’t stumble. But other than that, I think just guys on defense stepping up. Those guys on defense are playing well, man. It’s fun to watch them on defense.”
On if there’s something in his development that’s clicked that’s allowed him to play this well this season:
“No, I wouldn’t say it’s clicked. Just trying to prepare and prepare the same every week and not change that part of it. The guys around me have been the biggest reason, Coach McDaniels, and just taking coaching. Taking coaching from Coach Vrabel and everybody that kind of wants the best for me. Whether it’s hard coaching or we’re not, just trying to do what’s best for me and just trusting them and go out there and have some fun.”
On the fact he has 4,000 passing yards this season now. The only two quarterbacks to do that before him were Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe, and what it’s like to hit that and be in conversation with those two quarterbacks:
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m in conversation with them two. Those are probably two best in Patriots [History]. It’s an honor to do that, but it takes everybody. It took everybody. Like we say in the offensive room, it takes everybody, 11 of us each and every play. Whether it’s me throwing for that many yards or throwing for 20 yards, whatever it takes to win, I think that’s the most important thing. The thing I care about is our win-loss record. We still got some work left to do in some games ahead that should be fun.”
On the playcalling, when he’s looking at the plan with Josh, if he looks at it and says, ‘You did it again?’ because to score 42 points with the number of guys that they had out today is pretty impressive:
“Yeah, I go through them on Friday night and go through the play sheet. I star the ones that we like and I like, and I feel like we got a good chance to pick up a first down. I starred a lot of them this week and felt good about the plan. He shows up every week. I think his part and what he does for us and getting us in the right spot and expecting a lot out of us and pushing us to practice hard is one of the biggest reasons why we got to stay improving as the year goes on and helps us in the long run.”
On now that he’s down to the last week of the regular season, how much is the number one seed on his mind, and if that’s something that he’s focused on:
“Yeah, I think winning division is what we’re focused on. We still got to win out to win the division, that was our mindset. If that means the one seed’s at play, then that’s what we’re trying to do because we’re trying to win in the division and win the AFC East.”
On the fact that touchdown pass to Stefan Diggs actually helped him reach an incentive bonus in his contract, and if he knew that going into the game that he was targeting him to get the ball four times:
“No, but I’ll make sure. I’ll tell him he needs to buy me dinner or something. So whatever. We’re not looking to hunt up incentives. We’re just looking to hunt up wins.”
(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.
