It was no secret to New England Patriots fans that Drake Maye was going to have his work cut out for him against the Seattle Seahawks defense in Super Bowl LX. Unfortunately for Maye, the Seahawks D didn't slow down much during the game and he took the brunt of their motivation.
Maye finished the game getting sacked six times and picked off twice with one of those interceptions going for a touchdown. Getting after Maye was something that Seattle was clearly zeroed in on with Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu saying as much after the game.
"We knew [Maye]'s their whole team," Nwosu said. "We knew if we affected him, their whole gameplan would be nothing."
Seahawks knew exactly how to break Patriots by attacking Drake Maye
In all fairness, coming after the quarterback is a pretty common defensive strategy but the Seahawks committed to the bit during the entirety of the game and Maye paid the price for it. Will Campbell and the rest of the Pats offensive line struggled to protect their quarterback and that will ultimately be one of the talking points from the game.
It was clear from early on that the Patriots offense was going to have a long night but there was a glimmer of hope late in the game. Maye had back-to-back bombs with the second throw going for a touchdown that put the Pats on the board and pulled the game to within 12 points.
Unfortunately, despite that next Patriots drive looking promising, Maye threw an awful interception that essentially sealed the game. The Seahawks defense broke on the touchdown drive but rebounded and were able to continue to make Maye's life a living hell out on the gridiron.
Maye was an MVP candidate this season and he might not have played like it in the Super Bowl but the lackluster Pats performance wasn't all on him. Hopefully, the team can get him some help upfront this offseason to ensure that this doesn't become an Andrew Luck or Joe Burrow situation. The Patriots have their quarterback, now they need to make sure he can succeed.