The New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos 10-7 to win the AFC championship.
Quarterback Drake Maye clinched the win with a crucial third-down run in the final minutes.
Maye is now the third quarterback under the age of 24 to reach the Super Bowl.
DENVER – Mother Nature took care of the atmosphere with a swirl of flurries that stormed throughout the second half during the Jan. 25 AFC championship game, and the New England Patriots were about to put the game on ice.
One more third down run, a punt, some good defense, and the Pats would be off to Super Bowl 60.
But that’s not why Drake Maye is in the running – pun intended – for the NFL MVP award next month.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called for a run on third-and-7. Maye faked the handoff instead and streaked the opposite direction, desperate to find the corner and first-down yardage. Broncos linebacker Jonah Elliss pursued him from behind and appeared bound to catch up and stop him short of the marker.
Those 23-year-old legs moved too quickly, Maye converted the first down to set up “victory formation” in a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos, and he’s now the third QB under the age of 24 to make the Super Bowl, joining Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Marino. He also defeated three top-five defenses (in terms of yards allowed per game) en route to making the big game.
To celebrate the game-clinching first down, he head-butted his buddy and blindside protector, left tackle Will Campbell, who stands at 6-foot-6, weighs 320 pounds and had the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning.
“That was probably the hardest head bump of my life,” Maye said after the game.
Those defenses have also sacked him 15 times, five in each game. He has some bumps and bruises, he said, but so does everyone else on his team.
“But hey,” he said, “that’s what it takes.”
Now Maye and the Patriots have two weeks to heal before facing the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara, California.
“Props to this team, man,” Maye said. “Went after it tonight. We’re going to the Super Bowl, that sounds pretty good, that sounds pretty cool. Proud of this team, proud of the defense. We didn’t play our best ball in the first half, and in the second half came out and just battled the elements … it was a gritty win. Our defense stepped up. It was fun to watch.”
With passing game grounded, Maye’s athleticism took over
Maye finished 10-for-21 for 86 passing yards as the game turned into a whiteout in the second half thanks to snow and wind. He feasted against the Broncos on the ground, though, moving the chains by picking up first downs with his legs. His 6-yard touchdown tied the game in the first half.
“That’s the great thing about Drake, the ability to extend plays, and if it’s not there, gain chunks,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “He’s done that most of the year. Again, we’ll have to get a lot of things corrected and we’ll have to play our best football game in two weeks if we want to finish as champions.”
No coach will necessarily use Maye’s three postseason performances as “teach tape,” but if playing winning football is all that matters at this stage in the season, then by all means, fire up the projector.
“I think we still haven’t played our best football yet in these playoffs,” Maye said. “I’m looking forward to seeing that and hopefully having that click and win the Super Bowl. That would be pretty cool.”
Three of the Patriots’ longest plays against Denver were Maye scrambles. The other two were receptions by Mack Hollins, who returned for the first time in more than a month after suffering an ankle injury. The highlight was a flea-flicker to Hollins that went for 31 yards.
Against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round, Maye ran for 67 yards and set a Patriots record for most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback.
“I mean, he is a tremendous athlete,” tight end Hunter Henry said. “It’s a threat, and to be that mobile and be able to run the way he does, see things and extend plays and all that is, is a big, big advantage for us. You know, he’s a tremendous player, tremendous competitor. For him to make a lot of plays with his legs today was big.”
Right tackle Morgan Moses, 34, said Maye keeps his teammates in the game – with his production – and level-headed – with his attitude in the huddle.
“Man, we got a hell of a quarterback,” said Moses, who blocked for Lamar Jackson during Jackson’s second MVP season with the Baltimore Ravens.
Mistake-free football breaks Maye’s sloppy playoff streak
Maye came under fire after the first two rounds of the postseason for his sloppy handling of the football. It was warranted criticism. He put the ball on the ground six times and was lucky to lose it only half the time. In this game, center Garrett Bradbury said, taking care of the football was the difference in the game – Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham’s fatal backward pass leading to Maye’s game-tying touchdown.
Bradbury said the ball slipped out of his hands when he would crouch down to snap it. That Maye had no mistakes was impressive, he said.
“We’ll ride with him any day of the week,” Bradbury said.
Even if Maye changes the play and doesn’t tell his offensive line.
“That’s got to be demoralizing for a defense,” Bradbury said.
In a way, Maye exacted his revenge on a franchise responsible for some childhood trauma. A North Carolina guy who bleeds Tar-Heel blue, Maye attended Super Bowl 50 as a boy. Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers team lost to the Broncos in a defensive-minded affair.
‘It’s full circle,” Maye said. “My dad, when I was maybe in seventh grade, said if the Panthers made it we were going to go. It was heartbreaking.”
Ten years and one AFC championship trophy later, Maye was the one breaking Broncos fans’ hearts.