Patriots’ Drake Maye Deflects Credit Following First Playoff Win

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye ran off the field to chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP!” on Sunday.

It’s safe to say that he didn’t play like one, though…

Maye, who turned the ball over twice and was one lucky bounce away from doing it a third time, deflected any and all credit following his first playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium.

“It wasn’t my best tonight, but hey, that’s why you have teammates — they picked me up tonight,” Maye said following the game, per team-provided video. “… I’ve got to be better.”

New England head coach Mike Vrabel is never one to pull punches, though he did give credit where it was due.

“We got to take care of the football, but I thought he came through when we needed him,” Vrabel said. “(Maye’s interception that came on a) tipped pass is something that was unfortunate, but the throw to Hunter (Henry) when we needed him was elite.”

Maye did it when it mattered most, finishing 11-for-14 in the second half — which included his beautiful touchdown pass that ended up being the only one of the game.

Maye needs to avoid mistakes like the ones he made in his postseason debut if he plans on continuing to advance, but for now he gets to hang out with his family and play some ping pong.

“I’ll go home and probably play ping pong until 1:30 (a.m. ET),” Maye said.

The Patriots will take on the winner of the league’s final wild-card matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, with that divisional round game scheduled for next Sunday.