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Pats inhale Drake Mayes' stunning 11.82 seconds and drop 'stupid decision' in OT

Posted on by Kennedy
Pats inhale Drake Mayes' stunning 11.82 seconds and drop 'stupid decision' in OT

It was the result that New England Patriots fans had expected for the past three seasons. It was a loss. Tennessee Titans 20, Patriots 17, in overtime, on a cloudy Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

And yes, the Patriots were doomed when rookie quarterback Drake Maye dropped back in the final minutes of overtime and threw a high ball that was intercepted by Titans safety Amani Hooker to end the game. There is no need for anyone, anywhere, either in the press box or in possession of a social media megaphone, to embellish the bad pass with lots of snarky comments. Maye took care of all that: “Just a stupid decision,” he said, and no one in the postgame interview room threw a challenge flag.

But if the Patriots return to elite NFL status next season or in 2026, and it's Maye's veteran, on-the-money quarterback that gets them there, then Sunday's game will be viewed as the day it officially became OK, to believe in the future. That's because of what happened in the final game of regulation, when Maye managed a whopping 11.82 seconds (according to Next Gen Stats) before connecting with Rhamondre Stevenson for the touchdown that sent the game into overtime.

It was the kind of flashiness that a certain former Patriots quarterback constantly displayed, right?

Well, sure, except we're not talking about Tom Brady, who sat on fourth-and-1 and could be counted on to slide into a first down with a broken play, but not much for true old-time scramble had left. We're talking about Steve Grogan, who brought exceptional running ability to the Patriots from 1975 to 1990. That's what Maye can do. That's exactly what Maye did on Sunday, from his 26-yard run on New England's first drive to his 11.82-second catch-me-if-you-can on the final drive of regulation. Not bad for a guy just coming off a concussion.

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Maye looked like one of the older boys playing tag football with the preschoolers, running back and forth with a big smile on his face as the boys ran amok helplessly with their arms raised. He looked like Bobby Orr on that “It Will Live On YouTube Forever” night in 1974, circling every Atlanta Flames skater on the ice before going behind the net and slamming a backhander past goaltender Dan Bouchard. As Flames coach Bernie Geoffrion said after the game, “What I want to know is where were my five guys?”

Titans coach Brian Callahan may have been thinking along those lines Sunday, given the skill with which Maye moved before finding Stevenson with that pass that went into the books as a 5-yard completion.

Should Patriots coach Jerod Mayo have seized the momentum and gone for the game-winning two-point conversion?

“At the time I thought it was the right decision,” said the coach lightly. But Maye probably had something right when he said, “I was just trying to catch my breath.”

Just watching the piece made me want to catch my breath. Was it really just 11 seconds and change? Seems like Maye was running around for 20 minutes.

So they went for Joey Slye's sure extra point and tied the game at 17-17. New England and Tennessee went into overtime and the Titans methodically moved the ball 72 yards on 13 plays. They didn't get into the end zone; What they did get was a 25-yard field goal from Nick Folk.

New England's offense took over with 2:32 left in overtime. Maye ran for 11 yards on the second play of the drive – giving him 95 rushing yards for the day, an order of magnitude higher than Grogan.

But then came that deep ball that was intended for Kayshon Boutte but was deflected by Hooker, who suffered a knee injury. Ball game.

“Something you would like to have back, especially in a situation where we could at least tie it up,” Maye said.

What did the coach see?

“Look, he's a guy out there trying to make a play, just trying to make a play,” Mayo said of his quarterback. “I think sometimes, as well as he played, you forget how young he is.

“He will continue to develop and be a good quarterback in this league,” Mayo said. “We will all learn from this, including me.”

That was, right there, solid coaching speak.

Next came a few coach-speaks that were off the mark. When asked if he saw progress from his team, with the reporter who asked the question citing an interception from Jahlani Tavai and a couple of big returns from Marcus Jones as helpful examples, Mayo replied: “Yeah, I think so. “At the same time, we never want to lose games. And I feel like crap right now. So it’s difficult, at least for me, to really get anything positive out of it.”

Um, okay. I guess it's a coach's job not to look for the positive after a loss. Coaches don't do silver linings…or glasses half full…or valuable life lessons.

But beyond the measured praise — well beyond the measured praise — Mayo had to be thrilled with what he saw from his quarterback on Sunday. For the rookie quarterback's 11.82 seconds of scrambling, he had a spot at field level.

In a Patriots season that ends up mostly forgotten, the Maye scramble is the unforgettable moment that will be talked about for years.

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(Photo: Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

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