Patriots QB Drake Maye Postgame Transcript 9/20

PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

September 20, 2026

Q: A little better than last week, but still not quite where you would like it, scoring just 13 points offensively.

DM: Good question. Just a summary? Yeah, definitely not where we want to be, I think. Just a point of making some plays, picking up some first downs, and then end up just stalling out. I think it starts with me making good decisions, being in good plays. It starts with us finishing the drives. I think when you finish the drives — we got down there past the 50 multiple times, and kind of just penalties, one delay of game on my end. Just little things that are just hurting ourselves, and it is going to end up coming back to bite us, so it already bit us once last week. Our defense is playing great, and shout out to — it is fun watching them play. We have got to match it and have some more urgency, and it starts in practice.

Q: How much are you grinding as you go about your business here early on in the season, and what kind of things did you like that you were able to keep doing and keep going as the game went on?

DM: Yeah, I think we are figuring us as an offense out early in the weeks, and when you are playing against teams early in the weeks, you are figuring out what we have got, who we are. I think it is just a nature of doing things at a higher level, executing better. Extra effort. We talked about this week, extra effort, extra execution, and I think when we did, it showed up. We made some big plays, and TreVeyon [Henderson]’s touchdown had everybody blocked up. Pop [Douglas] made a huge block, and you just see the extra effort when it works. When we strain a little bit harder, good things happen, and then just doing that more and more, and it starts in practice.

Q: Vrabel just answered a question saying, “We are just trying to win the game. Not going to ruin my Sunday,” when asked about the offense. How do you feel after a game where maybe you did not play your best, but you guys still came away with a win?

DM: Yeah, it is tough in this league. It is tough to — we want to execute and be successful on offense and still know that that was not our best football when you come out with a win. So, you have got to take it, see it both ways. You have got to be excited and enjoy the win, but at the same time, you realize that playing like this is not going to end up with, offensively, us leading our team to wins. I think that is what it starts — it starts with me and starts with more juice. And coming out there at halftime, you have got to feel like, “Man, we are going to go out there, score, put it on them and put the game away” because our defense is giving those opportunities. So, it is nothing to hang your hat on. It is early on, but at the same time, we have got to have some urgency and a little fire under us.

Q: Just curious, when you see Michael Onwenu go down like that, what was it like to see the team bounce back and be able to put together some drives, and specifically with Greg [Van Roten], him coming in and filling that void?

DM: Yeah, it is heartbreaking when you see a guy like Mike who has played through injuries, been here since he was a rookie, playing multiple positions and just does the — he is just gritty. He leaves it all out there, and we’ll make sure to check in on him, see how he is doing. But at the same time, Greg comes in there and guys are stepping up, and you have got Greg and Mo [Morgan Moses] over there. That is combined at least 70 years over there, so they have got a lot of experience, they know how to play together, and they have been on teams before. So, I have got full confidence in GVR when he came in there. We’ve definitely got some things to clean up, but full confidence, and we ran the ball, at times, really well.

Q: Josh [McDaniels] was saying midweek you guys are going to have to learn how defenses defend you guys differently this season. It seemed like they sent a lot of first down pressure. Aside from that, how would you describe what the Steelers had with their game plan today?

DM: Yeah, I think you saw a little bit earlier, they are trying to guard us man to man, and we hit some plays on them from that standpoint. Then they later tried to bring some pressure and play some blitz zones behind it. Then they did some things on third downs to try to heat us up. So, I have got to have answers. I have got to get the ball out and realize that extending drives, doing things the right way and taking what they give me, but at the same time being aggressive.

Q: On the deep balls maybe through these last two weeks, are you putting the ball where you want to put it? It feels like maybe some of them have been under thrown. I do not know if that is intentional or —

DM: Yeah, the one, Eli [Raridon], I thought Eli made a great play. He had a linebacker on him, was trying to give him a ball that he could go up and catch, and I thought he made a great play. The one from the other standpoint, Romeo [Doubs], I could have maybe given it out there on the rollout one a little farther. He may would have scored, but I felt that one came out of my hand well. The one to Hunter [Henry] in the first drive, I felt that was good. He made it; he had a great route and got open, and then the one to Hunter on the interception, I just have got to give him a chance farther with the linebacker kind of panicking back. But at the same time, I can give it kind of underneath and keep the drive going once we get into that almost high red zone area, trying to take a shot and hit one. But at the same time, you have got to know that that is not always the time to take a shot on first down.

Q: I wanted to ask you about those big plays. Was it nice to just get some of those explosives back and especially the one to Romeo on the big rollout play?

DM: Yeah, I think if I maybe even put it out in front a little more, he may have scored. But, good to get some big plays, and we had some big runs. That’s the thing with us; we feel like the more plays that we can have and pick up first downs, the more the X plays and the big plays will come. Because we have got guys that — we have got a great coaching staff that gets us in the right stuff and we just have got to go execute it. So, it is nice seeing that, but at the same time, we cannot follow up those plays with negative ones or being in yardage where we feel like we are at the advantage and have something push us back, or penalties from that standpoint. So, it is just the little things. It starts with me doing them better and making them more important, and I think that is the big thing, so thank you, guys.