‘You Can’t Make That Mistake’ — Ex-Eagles LB Pulls No Punches As Drake Maye’s Brutal Mistake Costs Patriots in Week 1 Loss vs. Seahawks
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The first game of the season was a roller-coaster ride for the New England Patriots. Trying to exact some measure of revenge on the Seattle Seahawks after their 13-29 loss in Super Bowl 60, an injury to Sam Darnold on the first drive gave New England a huge boost.
In cruise control for most of the evening, the Patriots even built a comfortable 10-point lead. However, Drake Maye’s brutal fourth quarter culminated in a game-losing mistake that sent the Patriots to a disappointing 0-1 start, and it didn’t take all that long for former players to criticize Maye in the aftermath.
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Emmanuel Acho Blames Drake Maye for Patriots’ Week 1 Loss
It wasn’t a pretty game for Maye right from the outset. At halftime, he racked up just 66 passing yards, with one touchdown that was heavily aided by a defensive pass interference call drawn by A.J. Brown.
In the second half, things completely fell apart. Maye finished the game with 178 passing yards on 33 attempts, averaging less than 5.5 yards per attempt. Moreover, he did not add another touchdown to his tally and took three sacks on the night.
Even though he had 47 yards on seven carries on the ground, the fourth quarter presented a laundry list of mistakes for Maye. All three Patriots possessions ended in an interception, including the final one in the end zone with only 26 seconds on the clock.
Former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho wasn’t impressed, to put it mildly.
“A rookie performance by a third-year quarterback” was the verdict from Acho on the “Speakeasy” podcast. Maye’s mistakes directly led to 13 unanswered points for the Seahawks, ultimately handing them the victory.
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“The interception that wasn’t to Romeo Doubs. You don’t even peek at the backside safety in the Cover 2, allowing that unoccupied safety to come in and get the pick. That’s Julian Love, shoutout to him,” Acho said.
He wasn’t done there. He argued that Maye’s most damaging mistake came on his final interception.
“With the game on the line, a jump ball to a special teams savant in Mack Hollins. That is what you want to put the fate of the Patriots’ hands in? A phenomenal human being, but Mack Hollins is not known for being an All-Pro-caliber wide receiver.”
As Josh Dubow of the Associated Press revealed, it was a historically bad performance from Maye. “Drake Maye is the first QB to throw 3 INTs in the 4th quarter of a season opener with his team tied, in the lead, or down by one score since at least 1991.”
Despite the excellent work Maye did on the final Patriots drive, pushing them 57 yards toward the red zone, it was all erased by the critical error on the final play.
“If you just throw it out of bounds, we are currently watching overtime. Instead, we are watching your head hung low at a postgame presser. You can’t make that mistake. Not in your third year, not with Super Bowl aspirations,” Acho continued.
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The former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker concluded, “That’s not a mistake that a third-year Drake Maye, after finishing second in MVP voting, that’s not a mistake Drake Maye can make.”
It remains to be seen if this will be a recurring problem for Maye in his third season or if the Seahawks are uniquely equipped to cause him problems. Last year, he ranked as the best player inPFN’s Quarterback Impact Metrics, yet he looked nothing like his true self in the Super Bowl.
Notably, the Seahawks were the highest-graded team in PFN’s Defense Impact Metrics. In their two meetings, that defense has been able to outshine the barrage from Maye.
But if it turns out to be a consistent problem in his third year, then it could ring alarm bells for the Patriots.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.