TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye Postgame Press Conference
Drake Maye speaks following the Patriots' Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks Sunday night.
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Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say after the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks Sunday night.
On if he can share how he’s feeling:
“This hurts. No doubt. It definitely hurts. It’s been a long ride. They played better than us tonight. They deserve to win that game. And speaking for the whole team and myself, just what a journey it’s been for us. I love this team. I love those guys in the locker room, and we’ll leave it all in the field. I know a lot of guys did that tonight and just came up short, didn’t play our best. That’s what happens.”
On what they did:
“Credit to them. We were moving it solid in the first couple of drives, but just had a couple of negative plays that would kind of put us behind the chains. Then from there, we just couldn’t stay ahead of the chains. And third-and-short, we couldn’t pick up some first downs. They had brought some pressure where they got us a few times. And just got to be better with the football, make better decisions. And I got to make better throws when the game is like that. I got to make some throws to help us move the football.”
On what he would like to have back:
“Tonight? What would I like to have back? I’d like to go back to the beginning and redo it. But no, there’s so many play that can decide and change the game. I think, what is it, 19-7 or 22-7, and I had the fumble or whatever, and they returned it for a touchdown. There’s numerous plays in the first half where I feel like I could have made a better throw or make a better decision. And really just comes down to who makes the plays and who doesn’t. And they made plays the night.”
On if he can describe what happened on the interception:
“There were two of our guys were around them.”
I’m sorry, I don’t mean to…
“No. I mean, I threw it, hit him in the chest.”
On how his shoulder feels:
“My shoulder feels… I shot it up, so not much feeling. It was good to go and it felt all right.”
[Inaudible] – possibly on any positives he can take away:
“That’s what motivates you. That’s what we just talked about in the locker room. That’s what fuels you. I think that’s the biggest thing about life, is you’re going to have times like this, and it’s how you bounce back. I think all those guys in that locker room are going to use this as fuel, and I think I’ll go to war with those guys anytime, any day, anywhere. It’s motivation to get back here and not have this feeling and have what they’re feeling out there.”
[Inaudible] – Possibly on coming back from this:
“Coach just mentioned 307 days. That sounds long, and we’re back going in April, so it’s a quick turnaround, but I think the biggest thing is the relationships you build, whether it’s new people, old teammates that you’ve had, or teammates from last year, you just continue to build more relationships and just the memories. Memories of winning on the road or goofing off with the guys in the locker room or going out to eat with the O-Linemen or playing cards with the guys. Just being in the huddle. I think you remember being in the huddle, and that’s what you miss in the offseason. You miss being in the huddle and being with the guys in the locker room. That’s what makes you come back.”
On the teams he faced in the postseason and if that’s the best team he faced:
“It’ll be hard to say. I think, obviously, they played better than us tonight, and they beat us. We beat the other three, and they beat us tonight.”
On how much did he learn about himself this season:
“How much did I learn about myself? Just trying to really go back to before this year and before Coach got hired. Just trying to be the same person that got me here. To have people in the facility or my family members change what I do in my life to do things better, leadership-wise, or be a better teammate, or try to take advice from people I care about to try to just improve the player or teammate. That’s about it.”
On if he feels like his shoulder limited him in this playoff run:
“I think it’d be hard to say that. I was feeling good enough to be out there. If I’m out there, I wouldn’t put the team in harm’s way to not be myself and just didn’t make plays tonight.”
On if this makes him reassess the bar of what he has to be, what the team has to be, to win a championship [contender]:
“I think it starts in practice. Starts in practice, practicing better, practicing at a higher level, executing more. When you get those chances to make that play in the game that you see in practice, it’s the difference between winning and losing and making that play.”
On the fact he has so many fans and what does he say to them:
“No, I just thank them. What a year. It’s been a ride.”
On the fact this group won’t be the same and if that’s sunk in:
“Yeah, it’s hard to have that sink in right now. Hopefully, a lot of the same faces are here. The nature of the business, I know it won’t be like that, but this team was awesome.”
On his favorite part about Vrabel:
“Yeah, he was a heartbeat, no doubt about that. He was the reason why we’re here. He’s always the same and look forward to my relationship with him for a long time. He’s a great person and a hell of a football coach.”
On what the emotions are in the locker right now and how much are they leaning on each other right now:
“That’s what we said, stick together. That’s what it’s about, and it’s going to hurt and sting for a while, but that’s what you sign up for. So that’s what you get.”
On if there’s anything this offseason he plans to work on:
“Another year in this offense. Hopefully, knock on wood, nothing changes, but just another year of growing, trying to be a step ahead, trying to learn it as well as coach does and has knowledge for and just be the best teammate I can be.”
On if there was anything special their defense did that got him off balance:
“I think they’re great on all three levels. I think they’re well-coached. We knew they were going to be in the right spot. They mix it up, and I think they got good players at all three levels. That’s the biggest thing. They got good players at all three levels, and they made more players than we did. I got to make better throws and move in the pocket and change the launch point and do a lot of things at a better level for us to win.”
On how much he’ll use this as fuel:
“That’s what I told those guys in the locker, man, this is the fuel. If it’s not, then I don’t know what this feeling would do for you because this is tough.”
On why he and the coaching staff opened up the offense so late in this game:
“Yeah, I think when you’re down, I think it was 19-0, you got to start throwing the football. It’s hard to keep running when you’re down like that. We were able to make some plays, but it was a little too late. Our defense played a hell of a game tonight, and we just didn’t show up how we planned showing up offensively. It starts with me.
On if that’s the frustration given how well the defense played:
“I think it always is a team sport, and I think they’ve been playing well all playoff long. I’m not going to hang my hat on our performance. I know, obviously, we came up short, but at the same time, this is life.”
On the fact he hasn’t been shy about talking about his faith and what he takes from it:
“I talked about earlier this week. It’s purpose and passion. I got a strong passion for this game, but it’s not my purpose. It’s something that’s constant in my life, in my faith, in the highs and the lows, and just lean on it.”
On what he takes from the loss:
“Just go back, get back to work, do things a little more next time, or try to find a way to get the guys going or get myself in a rhythm. I think the biggest thing is back to the roots and back to phase one and getting a new team together. Like I said, hopefully it’s a lot of the same guys, but that’s not the reality of this sport. I’m looking forward to getting back with these guys because they’re awesome players, awesome people. It was fun.”
On how and in what ways does he think, the entire postseason, the entire season, and this moment right now, how does he use this to get to where he wants to be:
“I think it’s a judgment of how the game’s going. You got to have a feeling for how it’s going, how we’re doing offensively, what I need to do better, how we need to get ourselves in a different vantage point to have success. I think there’s really nothing more to say than make plays when they’re there. That’s the difference between teams that are sitting home watching tonight and the difference between us losing tonight and them celebrating.”
On how proud he is of his team:
“Man, I’m so proud. That’s probably the reason I’m choked up most. This team is something that I’m just glad to be part of.”
On when he thinks about this group and these guys, what are the things that stay with him, as well as the things that he enjoyed most about this group:
“I think the people who make the place. We got great people all around that help us, support staff and great fan base. Just glad to have this uniform on and look forward to getting back and playing another one.
On if all the teams he’s played on, if this one affects him the most:
“Yeah, you’re at the highest stage, the highest level, so it’s hard to put it that in comparison to others. I think it’s a business at this level, but it’s more than that. It’s more than that in a game like this. I think that’s about it. It’s more than a business. There’s people in there that are doing it, not for the money or the fame. That’s what’s cool about this team.”
On if there were any surprises about the experience overall with this being his first time on this stage:
“I think there’s always some surprises of being in it and having to deal with some of the things outside of getting ready for the game. It was a little different preparing for two weeks. It feels like you’re waiting for something for a while. But at the same time, it’s good to have the experience, and it’s hard to get back here. So it’s not a given to get back here. So we got to work to get back to having experiences like this and maybe flipping the script next time.”
On how he feels he handled the nerves:
“Handled the nerves? I felt I handled the nerves all right. I think the first possession, it felt good picking up a first down. [Rhamondre Stevenson] made a big play on a little swing route, and got the ball moving and took a bad sack. But really, I think it was just such a cool environment of playing in this game and you understand why people try to get to this game, and you understand why.”
On the fact they’re not really known as a pressure team and if they showed him anything different:
“We saw a good amount of variety of blitzes. I wouldn’t say that they’re a huge pressure team, but obviously, they had some success tonight. So they were heating us up and I got to do better protection and getting the ball out and just to not take a negative plays because that’s what put us in a bad spot.”
On if he managed to find Sam Darnold with the confetti coming down on the field:
“Yeah, he’s got better things to do.”
On if it’s something he wanted to do.
“Yeah, just say congrats.”
On if he’s able to look back and think what he would have done differently:
“Yeah, I think there’s plays that I’ll think about for the next, probably seven months until we’re back in September playing our first one. That’s the nature of it.”
On what the message was at halftime:
“It was 9-0, so there wasn’t too much panic. I thought the guys had a good belief in getting back there and getting it done. I think it started out with us. I made a stupid throw on the first play out of halftime. I had Mondre open in the flat. Other than that, I think on the third down, it was a third and short. We picked up with TreVeyon [Henderson] on the sweep and then the next third down, I think I may have missed Pop [Douglas], I’m not sure which one it was, but just missing throws and not making the plays when we needed to in a timely manner.”
On if he considers this a learning experience for himself:
“Learning experience. I think you have to. I think you live, you learn, and the losses, they hurt. And I think you try to learn when you win and try to remember this feeling when you lose. I know there’s a lot of things that you wish you had back, but it’s only going to make you stronger in the end.”
On what he’s learned about the difference between the regular season and play-offs
“Yeah, you got to play at your best and those plays that can change the game matter. If you make them, you’re celebrating it. If you’re not, you’re sitting here crying at a podium. So that’s part of it. I know the postseason is what you play for, and I know we’ll be back in the postseason, and that’s what you play the game for.”
On the job coach Vrabel did in year one:
“Everybody would say, be patient, let things get put into place and look where we’re at now. He was the Coach of the Year for a reason. He’s somebody that we all love playing for. There’s no other coach we’d rather to play for. He’s a constant reminder of why we believe and why we show up to work and have an identity. He gave a great reminder of people like you guys or family that travel all this way for us to watch us play. Just don’t ruin their night because I know it sucks and it hurts, but so many people that care about you and love you for more than just playing on the football field.”
(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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