Drake Maye took matters into his own hands on the Patriots’ game-clinching drive.
For the most part, Maye and the Patriots could barely move the football against the Broncos on Sunday, particularly when snow began rapidly falling on the field, diminishing both team’s ability to see clearly and throw the football.
Up 10-7 through three quarters, the Patriots offense mustered just one first down in the fourth quarter by the time Stidham threw a pick and New England got the ball back with 2:11 remaining. With a first down, the Patriots could seal the win and a trip to the Super Bowl. However, with the way the Broncos were defending the run, that would be no easy feat.
The Broncos held the Patriots to just four yards on first and second down. On third-and-6, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called for the Patriots to hand off to running back Rhamondre Stevenson again.
Instead, Maye opted to keep the football, taking it the other way for a first down. Had the Patriots’ not reached the first down marker, the Broncos could have gotten the football back with time to potentially tie up or win the game. Thanks to Maye taking the scramble, the Patriots got the first down without letting Denver see the field one last time.
.@DrakeMaye2 FIRST DOWN!!!!!
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 25, 2026
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/ZZjtMLeM7w
“I hit my block, and all the defenders started running the other way,” center Garret Bradbury recalled, via Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald. “I’m like, ‘What? Oh my God.’ ... I’m expecting Rhamondre to try and hit a hole. And I turn around, Drake’s over there with the ball, and I’m like, ‘Go, go, go!’ Because we didn’t know.'”
Maye did not tell any of his teammates that he was planning to keep the football, leaving them all fooled when he scampered for the critical first down.
“After the game, Drake’s like, ‘I debated telling you guys if I was gonna (keep) it or not. But I just decided not to,” Bradbury said.
After putting together an MVP-caliber season, Maye has had a quiet postseason. Going up against three strong defenses, Maye has been sacked 15 times and struggled to pass the ball consistently. That was the case again on Sunday in Denver, where Maye completed just 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards. His only touchdown came on a run after Broncos backup Jarrett Stidham lost control of a backwards pass deep in their own territory.
When it mattered most though, Maye made the key decision to ensure the Patriots got the win. The Patriots defense largely deserves credit for all they’ve done to bring New England back to the Super Bowl this postseason, but credit to Maye for coming through with the clutch choice and executing in suboptimal conditions.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake Maye Secretly Changed the Play on Run That Clinched Patriots' Trip to Super Bowl.
