TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye’s Press Conference 1/21
Maye speaks to the media ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship game in Denver.
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Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say during his press conference on Wednesday, January 21st, 2026.
On if he’s ever thrown a football in altitude, and if not, if anyone has given him any tips on what to expect:
“I haven’t thrown in altitude before. I’ve never really been to Colorado or to a place with altitude that I’ve thrown a football at. But I think there is some adjustment to it. I think feeling it out in warmups and seeing what the deep ball is like or kind of what the altitude does. I think the biggest thing is, for us, just fatigue-wise, I think we’ll try to get a feel for in warmups. I know it’s a little different, but I know a lot of teams play out there all the time. We’ll have an adjustment. Just for me, just feel it out in warmups. Maybe throw a few extra deep ones, see how it is. I think it’ll be pretty cool. Get a few extra yards on a deep ball. You can always use that.”
On if he’s ever used a silent count before and if so, what are some of the unique challenges he thinks of with a silent count:
“We use the silent count every road game. Really, I think, really every road game this season we’ve used it. I think the loudness of the stadium for this week will be different than what we’ve kind of heard just because of the AFC Championship at a road opponent that has had history of winning Super Bowls and playing in playoff games and has a great team. So the magnitude of the noise will be probably something we haven’t seen this year yet, but the silent count is something we’ve been working all year. We’ve been in Buffalo and Baltimore. We’ve used it in silent counts where it’s tough to hear in the huddle and tough for the O-line to hear me. So we just go in silent and we’ve done a good job.”
On the fact his team has had a lot of success on the road this season, and if he enjoys playing on the road:
“I think playing on the road is one of the coolest things of coming off the field at their place with screaming fans and coming out with a win. I think it’s pretty cool to celebrate and celebrate in an away, locker room that’s different. Coach has always been saying, ‘Road Warriors,’ so we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year. We got a tough job and a tough challenge, but I think the guys will be pumped up and ready for it.”
On the fact people from his high school days, college days describes him as a nice guy until a score is being kept, and if he feels like he flips a switch when it comes to competition and how he would describe that dichotomy:
“I try not to flip a switch. I think anytime the score is being kept, you want to win. I’ve tried to keep that same mentality my whole life. That’s from my older brothers to playing my wife in something, to playing out here, playing football. I think you want to win, and everybody’s keeping score, no matter if it matters or not, I think winning is more fun. That’s my mentality, and I think that’s what I try to bring that to this team, and I think the team feels the same way.”
On what he and his wife Ann-Michael, plays:
Shoot, it could be board games. She started playing MahJong. I haven’t got into that, but something like that, or playing Battleship or Cards or anything that goes off with me playing her. We picked up tennis a little bit in the offseason. Try to take it easy on the shoulder a little bit, but she’s picked up tennis, and anything we can compete in, she’s a great athlete.”
On what his reaction was to seeing Kayshon Boutte’s one-handed catch when he watched it back:
“What a catch. I mean, what a catch. He’s made time and time again, made big-time catches, and he deserves more chances. I’m looking forward to playing with him every time I go out there. He’s made some great catches on some deep balls and some intermediate routes. I went over to the sideline, and I always asked him if they catch it, and they always say yes, whether they catch it or not. But it was pretty cool to see, I think, whoever had a different shot of it in the snow with him making a one-handed catch, may have been NFL Films or somebody, but it was a sweet catch and a big-time play for us.”
On ball security being very important and over the last couple of weeks, there have been some fumbles from him, unfortunately, from his perspective and what has he done in terms of soul-searching to prevent that from happening in such an important game on Sunday:
“I think just work on it in practice. Be mindful back there, and just know that my job is to protect the football. And that’s every game. And I think one of the biggest things with the guys up front is it’s my job to have a timer in my head, and those guys done a great job all year. So I haven’t lost trust in those guys up front. And I know that we faced some pretty good edge rushers in the past couple of weeks. And I know we got another good set of edge rushers coming up this week. So just know, have a feel for it, and just protect the football because that’s my job.”
On the fact he worked with Ashton Grant this season, the quarterback’s coach, and what has he learned from him, and how has he helped him develop:
“Ashton has been awesome. He’s been awesome for me just because the offense I came from last year, he was running it in Cleveland. So we’ve had a cool experience translating the offense into what we started with and tried to get the old terminology out and get the new Coach McDaniels’ terminology. And he’s been great. He’s been great early in the week, giving us an intro. We sit in there with the quarterbacks with him and gives us an intro. We watch some stuff on tape that helps me a lot. I think he’s just good about staying positive. He’s in the box here in the game, comes down at halftime, always has something good to say, always has something positive to say. He’s fun. He’s funny. He’s always one of my number one hype mans, and I appreciate that about him. He’s always in a good mood, and he keeps it real. I think it’s the biggest thing you appreciate. He tells me when I need to do something that I need to work on, and he pumps me up a lot, which I appreciate.”
On the fact they’ve done a great job this year, treating every game like it’s just another game, however this one isn’t and if he’s allowed himself to think about the stakes and what’s at stake Sunday:
“Yeah, the stakes for the past two weeks have been win or go home. So it’s just another playoff game that we get a chance to go on a road environment that’s hostile and a great football team that’s got great coaches, great defense, great players. I think it’s just another challenge for us to finish what we started. I don’t think we want to stop here, and we want to keep going.”
On the fact his coach has really stressed having fun out there and we saw him tossing the ball around the field in the snow with maybe it was his brother or his wife posing for pictures, and what was that moment like and if it helps relieve the stress as he’s in the playoffs?
“I think just enjoying it. My wife has gotten on me because a bunch of other people have gone on to the field after the games, and we haven’t yet. I was like, ‘All right, the last one, we’ll go out there.’ So it was pretty cool with the snow and just time to enjoy a win with people I love.”
On the fact he’s weathered the highs and the lows of play off football in the last two weeks and what does he attribute that emotional maturity to from a group that really largely didn’t have a lot of postseason experience coming in:
“I think coaching helps. I think coach Vrabel, playing in big time playoff games, winning Super Bowls, Coach McDaniels, same thing. Just having coaches that know what it’s like, can prepare us for it, and just trust in what we’ve done all season. Coach always talks about, ‘Don’t change the recipe now.’ I think having little tweaks and stuff here and there is fine, but at the end of the day, being who we are, building this identity and going to show it and bring it on the road.”
On the fact Josh coached there and if there’s any insight that he can give him and has he given him this week about how to operate there?
“I think just being even better with my operation, I think last week can improve on my operation of getting in and out of the huddle, getting guys in the right spot, getting guys … just moving with a sense of urgency. I think that starts with me, of being under center and having good operation and getting out of the huddle fast, and getting the guys snapping the ball when we’re ready to go. I think he’s been in a lot of big-time games, especially on the road in his years. So he just says, ‘Just be even more intentional with the little things on the road.’ And obviously, he played there in the altitude and everything like that. But I think more the noise factor. We’re working on the silent cadence and just trying to do what we need to do to come out with a win.”
On all the defenses he’s faced this year, how difficult is it to identify pre-stab, where they’re going to come relative to other teams that play the way they do?
“I think they do a good job. They do a good job of bringing different guys out of base, out of sub, out of different things. We got to be firing all cylinders with protection. In the run game, they do a good job of getting TFLs and getting after the quarterback in the passing game. It’s already a tough enough job with the edge guys and the guys up front in the D-line that they have. So just knowing if they heat us up, just knowing where these guys are coming from and have an idea that depending on the game’s going, they could heat us up more or heat us up less, and just take it from there.”
On one of the reasons they’ve been as productive as you’ve been offensively this year is because he’s been really aggressive down the field and if he has to change that approach at all, going against a really good pass rush unit again this weekend:
“No, I don’t think we’re trying to change it. I think last week, you change it, and Kayshon doesn’t make the play. So little things like that, just knowing the time and place for it. I think trying to get the ball out of my hand and just being cognizant of the edge rushers and taking care of the football is the number one thing. So if we have time and have a look downfield, you know me, I’m going to take a look and take a shot.”
On the fact Greg Olson was talking about the debate in youth sports of specialization versus multi-sport athletes, and he used it as an example and how playing basketball, does he think, helped his athletic development in football:
“Yeah, I played, all three played baseball as well growing up, and just loved whatever season it was, was my favorite sport, and I think I got that from my brothers. They all three played them all. Just having a chance to go from season to season, finishing football season in high school, and going straight to the basketball court and just playing with my high school friends and playing competitive sports. I think basketball was one of my favorites. Just having the ball in your hand and making decisions with space and seeing defenders and making split-second decisions, I think, is the biggest thing in basketball. You make split-second decisions and that’s my job as a quarterback. You make really fast decisions. You got to see the defense and decide if you want to pass, shoot, drive, whatever you want. From there, I think just playing different sports and positions and playing baseball helps different stuff with my position and arm angles and seeing defenders and throwing it this certain distance and distance like that. I love playing sports growing up, all three and specializing. I think that’s become more and more of a common thing now. Whether it’s right or wrong, it kind of works for different people. But I know, Lord willing, if I have some kids, they’ll be playing a bunch of sports, so look forward to 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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