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Some thoughts following Sunday night’s loss:
1) There’s certainly an outpouring of frustration with how Sunday night’s 29-13 Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks played out, especially as it pertains to how quarterback Drake Maye played. Maye was sacked six times by a relentless Seahawks defense that manhandled rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson, as well as making the second-year QB’s life miserable all night.
To go along with the pressure, Maye was also erratic throwing the football, seeing a high percentage of his throws unusually off target. He had short throws that weren’t even close, and others that were well off the mark, with Maye having far and away his worst performance of the season.
He finished the night 27-of-43 (62.8%) for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. However, having watched how terrific he had been prior to Sunday night, something definitely wasn’t right.
With the reports that he was dealing with a shoulder injury, which have been rumored to be lingering into the postseason, there were certainly signs that it may have been worse than was let on. Reports after the game indicated he received an injection prior to the contest, which essentially confirms that he wasn’t 100%.
It definitely showed in his play on the field. In addition to his accuracy, the fact that Maye, who is normally not afraid to take off with the football, seemed ultra conservative with his feet. He appeared hesitant when it came to taking off, which was surprising given the amount of pressure the Seahawks were putting on him.
The other sign was the fact that as Seattle brought the heat, Josh McDaniels didn’t call any designed runs or anything that might have allowed Maye to get on the move to try and slow the Seahawks’ pass rush.
It was clear they were trying to keep him out of harm’s way, but the Patriots offensive line simply couldn’t protect him. Seattle set the tone in the first half as Maye was under pressure in each possession and completed just 6-of-11 (54.5%) for 48 yards. Over that span, New England’s offense was shut out, with the Seahawks dropping him three times in the first half as the Patriots went into the locker room down 9-0.
It got worse in the second half as Seattle began to pull away, with Maye finally seeing one play where he got absolutely leveled on what was initially ruled a sack and a turnover. Instead, scorekeepers later ruled it an interception after the ball ended up in the arms of Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who took it back 45 yards the other way for a touchdown.
That turnover came one possession after Maye threw off target on a deep ball to Kyle Williams for an interception, thwarting a comeback run after Maye had just thrown an unbelievable ball to Mack Hollins for a 35-yard touchdown the drive before.
Maye did eventually start running late in the contest, but by then, it was simply too late.
While Sunday night’s outcome is disappointing, it’s hard not to appreciate the road that brought them to this point. Changes will certainly be needed this offseason, and some reinforcements will be required.
But at quarterback, they have the player in place who likely would have had a little bit more productive evening had he been healthier and better protected.
2) Rookie tackle Will Campbell had a tough night, but it’s safe to say he also falls under the category of also likely not being 100%.
Critics are quick to fault him for Sunday night’s performance, but the former LSU standout is also recovering from an injury, which clearly impacted his play. One key aspect of Campbell’s game has been his footwork and his athleticism, which simply weren’t there down the stretch.
His injury wasn’t severe enough to end his season, but it seemed like, after he came back, he wasn’t quite as dominant up front as he had been for most of the season prior to getting injured.
People seem to forget that Campbell’s name wasn’t really mentioned all year prior to his injury, but his critics have emerged in the postseason as he struggled.
The simple fact is that the Patriots weren’t dominant during this postseason run, but they did make enough plays while also needing a few plays to go their way. Luck eventually ran out, and they were beaten Sunday night by a Seahawks team that did to them the same thing they did to the other teams they faced during the playoffs.
As frustrating as it was to watch, Sunday night wasn’t an anomaly. Seattle’s been playing this way all year and carried that into the playoffs.
As a result, the Patriots didn’t lose to an inferior opponent. They simply lost and were outplayed by a more talented football team.
3) With that in mind, New England’s defense deserves an unbelievable amount of credit for what they did on Sunday night.
They did an amazing job of their own, making life difficult on Sam Darnold and pressuring him throughout the contest. They somehow held the Seahawks to field goals until a turnover by the Patriots offense eventually put them in a bad spot, and it led to Seattle finally getting into the end zone.
It was also a group that never let up. They still forced the Seahawks off the field after the Patriots got their first touchdown, but an interception by Maye on the ensuing drive put Seattle back in New England territory, and the best they could do was hold Seattle to another field goal.
The killer on Sunday night was the fact that they couldn’t force any turnovers. The other problem was that although the defense did a great job of getting pressure, they simply couldn’t finish. They overran Darnold on multiple occasions, which prevented them from putting a hit on him and potentially knocking out the football or forcing more errant throws. When they look back at this one, despite their Herculean effort, there will be plays they certainly wish they could have back.
Still, overall, the defense gave up five field goals and one touchdown, which, against a team like the Seahawks, is far more than could have been expected.
4) Despite that, one player who deserves a ton of credit is Christian Gonzalez, who was outstanding all night.
He played a massive role in New England shutting down Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was held to just 4 catches on 10 targets for 27 yards. Gonzalez had two diving pass breakups that were huge, as well as a couple of key tackles during the night.
Overall, he finished with four tackles and three passes defensed, and he was just absolutely terrific.
Gonzalez is going to be among the candidates looking for a contract extension this offseason, and he certainly did enough to prove his worth. It’s just too bad things didn’t quite turn out in their favor and he won’t have a Super Bowl ring included on his resume.
5) Rookie safety Craig Woodson is another player who deserves a lot of credit for his play Sunday night.
Woodson was everywhere, coming up and making several huge tackles as well as knocking away a couple of passes.
He finished the night as the team’s leading tackler, finishing with a combined 10 tackles, including three for a loss, and two passes defensed.
He stepped up and played a big role in New England keeping things close, but the offense simply wasn’t able to hold up its end of the deal.
However, he remains part of this 2025 Patriots Draft class that played a massive role in the team’s huge turnaround this season, and leaves them with some great pieces to build around as they start addressing the roster this offseason.
In the end, Sunday night’s finish is certainly something that is disappointing. But given the job Mike Vrabel did and the growth we saw as a whole from this group, there’s definitely plenty of reason to be excited for what lies ahead for the future of this football team.
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