Aaron Rodgers had interesting things to say about Drake Maye after Patriots loss

Heading into their Week 3 matchup against the Jets, the Patriots were coming off a deflating loss to the Seahawks in overtime just one week after stealing a win over the Bengals in the season opener. There was some optimism they would be able to do it again at MetLife Stadium, only for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets to wipe the floor with them in all three phases of the game.

It was a game that saw virtually no protection from the offensive line, with quarterback Jacoby Brissett spending more time getting hit to the ground than being able to throw passes and rookie Drake Maye being thrown in for the last four minutes to gain some experience in garbage time.

There was nothing pretty about the Patriots' effort in their only primetime game of the season, making it an embarrassing loss that seemed to fit the preseason narrative of what kind of team they would be during the 2024 season.

Besides the obvious headlines generated by the game, most of which came from the lack of tackling, an injured offensive line, and questionable play-calling, Maye created a bit of controversy in New England for his post-game comments about the opposing quarterback.

His reference to Rodgers as the "GOAT" while waiting to meet him after the loss sparked a lot of conversation, considering he plays for the team that Tom Brady made relevant, but that's not the only discussion surrounding the two quarterbacks coming from this matchup.

Because he's a consistent guest on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers spoke to the panel on Tuesday about meeting the Patriots young quarterback and shared his appreciation for what Maye did to ensure he was able to speak with the Super Bowl champion.

Aaron Rodgers shares details about meeting with Drake Maye after Patriots Week 3 loss

Once the game was over, Maye prioritized getting some face time with Rodgers before he left the field, even waiting for the quarterback to be done with his post-game interview with Amazon to get in a quick hello.

Rodgers spoke about how "cool" it was that Maye did that and shared he reached out to him on Instagram later on to reiterate how much he appreciated him sticking around.

"I thought it was really cool that Drake [Maye] stuck around to say hello. It's something definitely that I would've done as a young player to some of the guys I watched growing up. I just happened to be teammates with my favorite quarterback at the time. It was really cool, I reached out to him on Instagram to tell him that I appreciated that. So, it was cool. It was really cool. There's something about having that respect and deference that I just really appreciate."

Although Patriots fans don't view Rodgers in the best light, considering the unfair comparisons or insistence that he is better than Brady, and now that he's in the AFC East, he's still a tenured quarterback that the incoming classes of rookies grew up watching. So, having the opportunity to shake his hand and maybe get in a few words is probably pretty cool, which seemed to be the case with Maye after Thursday's game.

It's something New Englanders became accustomed to watching Brady over the years, especially near the end of his career, seeing players almost lineup just to to say hi.

That's likely what made this interaction so cool for Rodgers and why he wanted to share it during his appearance on the show this week. Hopefully, next time, the Patriots will be the winner of the game to make that much cooler.

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