As if losing in the Super Bowl wasn't bad enough, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is getting ripped to shreds for his performance against the Seattle Seahawks.
Maye went 27-of-42 for 295 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a costly fumble. The MVP finalist was sacked six times and just never really seemed comfortable in the pocket. He told reporters after the game that he needed a pain-killing injection for his right shoulder prior to kickoff.
Although a strong argument can be made that Maye's injury limited him in the Super Bowl, WFAN's Craig Carton isn't buying it. He believes the former North Carolina star was exposed this postseason.
"Drake Maye was never a good quarterback," Carton said. "Drake Maye benefitted from playing against the worst teams in football. Drake Maye had a terrible postseason. He got exposed. I knew they'd try to set up some type of excuse for him - just stop!"
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images.
Carton wasn't done ripping the second-year quarterback for the Patriots.
"If you're a Patriots fan, you have to understand you do not have a franchise quarterback. You have a kid who had a great regular season playing the worst teams in the NFL. I kept saying all year they're not a good team."
The outspoken host for WFAN finished his rant by predicting the Patriots will go 5-12 during the 2026 season.
Mike Vrabel stands up for Maye.
After the Patriots lost 29-13 to the Seahawks, head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Maye's performance. Unsurprisingly, he refused to throw his quarterback under the bus.
“We can sit here and try to put it on one guy,” Vrabel said. “You’ll be disappointed because that’ll never happen. It starts with us as a coaching staff and making sure that we’re doing our part. Obviously, we have to be able to execute, we gotta be able to protect. When we do protect, we have to be able to progress through and throw the ball with guys open and help the quarterback. And then he’s gotta be better. That’s just how it goes, that’s never gonna change.”
As long as Maye and Vrabel are on the same page, the Patriots should be considered a contender in the AFC. So no, we don't expect the Patriots to win only five games like Carton said.