One of the biggest points of emphasis all season has been Mike Vrabel’s emphasis on making sure his team eliminates mistakes and ‘the things that get you beat.’
Based on Drake Maye’s comments this week, that’s been an area of focus for him heading into Sunday’s game against the Texans.
Despite last week’s win over the Chargers, Maye had some difficult moments that he’s hoping not to repeat during the Patriots’ Divisional Round showdown against Houston this weekend.
The first came on just the second possession of the game as Maye was trying to throw over the middle to tight end Austin Hooper, with the ball getting tipped and intercepted deep in his own end. The second came on their first drive of the third quarter, with Maye losing the ball at the Chargers’ 18-yard line.
It happened while Maye was trying to avoid a sack on a 2nd-and-10, with the QB trying to make a play despite being under tremendous duress, with Los Angeles knocking out the football and recovering it for a turnover.
The Chargers recovered, and it cost the Patriots the chance to get points down in the Red Zone. Those were certainly at a premium on Sunday in what finished as a 16-3 win, with Maye crediting the defense for their efforts after the game.
Fortunately for Maye, that unit came up huge in each situation. They held down on the goal line on the first one, forcing Los Angeles to turn the ball over on downs. They then forced a punt after Maye’s fumble, which saw the Patriots march down and finish that drive with a 39-yard field goal by Andy Borregales, which put them up 9-3. Maye also got lucky on another ball he lost on a 3rd-and-6 in the fourth quarter that Jared Wilson alertly fell on.
He dodged a bullet on that play, which could have opened the door for the Chargers to get back in the game.
Instead, he ended up walking away with his first career playoff win. However, on Sunday against the Texans – and however long this magical run lasts – Maye knows he’s got to be better when it comes to protecting the ball.
“Yeah, I think the tipped interception, it is what it is,” said Maye while talking about it this week. “I think I could have done a better job of seeing the guy and maybe not try to throw to Hoop [Austin Hooper] at the backside, let him get across.”
“The last fumble, just held the football. You can’t do that this week. Again, you can’t do it, especially when we’re cutting on the edge in a quick game. You can’t do things like that and protect the football. From there, just kind of know when that timer is going off in my head. I feel like I’ve had a good feel for that this year.”
He’s definitely got another tough challenge in front of him this week. The Texans had the best defense in the NFL this season, allowing just 277 yards per game, along with just 93.7 on the ground (4th in the NFL). They were also tied for 6th in the league in sacks with 47 with the Seahawks and Rams.
In the passing game, Houston got its hands on the football quite a bit, finishing with 90 passes defended in 2025, 5th highest total in the league. That led to a total of 19 interceptions (3rd in the NFL). They also forced 12 fumbles with 8 recoveries.
As a result, Maye is fully aware of what he’s up against. In a game that may likely have a similar theme to the one he just played, he knows this time around, he’ll need to be better when it comes to protecting the ball knowing how aggressive Houston’s defense is.
Having played them last year in his first NFL start, he’s already got some familiarity. But there’s more at stake in this match-up, and Maye is aware that he’ll need to be at his best, especially when he’s got guys coming after him.
“They got eyes on the quarterback, they got eyes on creating turnovers, said Maye. “Their guys in the back end are great at getting their hands on the football and catching it when there’s somebody throwing it.”
“I think the DBs and the guys in coverage know that up front that they’re good,” he added. “So that gives them a capability to maybe try to take some more chances knowing the rush could get home. I faced them last year, so I’ve got a little bit of a feel for it in my first start. Was just trying to stay alive out there. So I know these guys are great up front, they’re great in the back-end, and got to be good. You got to be firing on all cylinders.”
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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.
