Patriots QB Drake Maye Transcript 10/1
PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 1, 2025
Q: What do you see from this Bills defense that will give you a challenge Sunday night?
DM: They’ve played together for a while, added a few new pieces, but a lot of the same guys have been making plays there for a while now. [Terrel] Bernard’s a good player. We’ll see if [Ed] Oliver’s back; he’s a good player up front. [Joey] Bosa’s been a good addition for them. In the back end, they’ve got some guys that they’ve had play there for a while. Tre’Davious White’s been there for a while. They’re all instinctive. [Taylor] Rapp, and the young safety [Cole Bishop] has started to play a lot for them. They play together, they gel well, they have a good scheme, they know what they’re doing, they’re coached well. So, we’ve got a tough challenge. We’ve got a tough challenge, and we’ll be ready for it. We’re on the road, so it’s going to be a tough environment, and we’re excited for it.
Q: Is there any extra charge for you getting to play a primetime game?
DM: Yeah, it’s always a little extra juice playing primetime. Everybody’s watching, playing a division opponent. What Coach [Mike] Vrabel says is that’s where we want to go, where we want to be at is where the Bills have been the past couple years: contenders, winning the division and playing well at home. They’ve won, he said, 14 straight, if that’s right, at home. So, it’s a tough environment, and like I said, they’re a great football team with some great players. So, we’ve got our hands full, but we’re excited. Anytime you’re on primetime, you’re kind of waiting the whole day for the game and under the lights. So, it’ll be pretty sweet.
Q: Josh Allen said that you guys have a relationship. Where did you meet him? When did that begin?
DM: I got to know him through the same agency. I got to know him, and we share a lot of the same things. We like playing golf. He’s very down to earth; I like to say I’m down to earth. He’s a great player. Golly, it’s fun watching him. He makes some plays every week that you’re like, ‘Man, that’s pretty cool.’ So, he’s the MVP of the league, and sadly to say it’s fun to watch him, but we’re going to play him on Sunday, so it’s a little different mindset.
Q: As another quarterback, what did you learn from him over the course of your career? Maybe you’ve taken a thing here or there when it comes to helping you develop?
DM: He’s just the ultimate – he wants the ball in his hands to win the game. With the game on the line, the ball is in Josh’s hand a lot, and he ends up making the play. That’s what I’ve learned. He’s so versatile. I think that’s what makes it so tough on defenses is what he can do, extend plays, play in the pocket. In the running game, he has the extra hat, and he’s commanding the offense. He’s been doing that for a while at a very high level, and like I said, it’s fun to watch, but now we’re playing against him.
Q: Some people compared your play style to Josh Allen’s. I’m just curious, have you watched any of his film specifically to learn from maybe the way he plays, or just have you kind of tried to take away anything from him?
DM: You watch a lot of the same tape being in the division. You see the Bills show up a lot, and they kind of have the same type of offense. Any time you watch those quarterbacks around the league playing at a high level like that, you try to learn something. Learn how he’s looking off defenders or learn what he’s doing with his pump fakes when he’s out in the perimeter, stuff like that that he’s so good at. From there, he’s great throwing down the field and great at extending plays, moving guys and scramble drill. So, he’s great.
Q: When it comes to moving defenders with your eyes, how much of that is a pre-snap kind of determination you’re making, and how much of that is post-snap based on what you get?
DM: It’s a little bit of both. I think pre-snap is some of our combinations that you know that are setting up. ‘Hey, we’ve got something here on concept on the right, let me try to hold this backside hook defender,’ or ‘We’ve got a high-low on a flat defender, let me try to give him eyes to the low, or just little things like that.’ Some of it’s post-snap, and it depends what coverage they’re playing. Some of it is pre-snap. ‘Hey, I know I’ve got to do something with this player because he’s where the concept is ending up trying to hit.’
Q: They haven’t lost the turnover battle in 26 straight games. What about that kind of speaks to you and what you’ll have to do?
DM: Don’t beat ourselves. I think that’s been our mindset since what happened with Pittsburgh two weeks ago. Don’t beat ourselves. That’s what happened last year at their place. I think we had a chance at them. Shoot, it was 14-14, I think we fumbled, and then obviously the touchdown we gave up on the backwards pass. Just don’t beat ourselves and just playing our identity, and we can play with anybody if we don’t do that. They’re definitely getting the ball out, and they do a great job in zone defense of having their eyes on me and playing off my eyes.
Q: I think you’ve said in the past, you don’t tend to show a ton of emotion on the field, maybe you’d like to try to do a little bit more of that. We saw a little celebration after your touchdown run the other day. Do you feel like you’re getting more comfortable expressing yourself on the field or showing that emotion?
DM: Yeah, no doubt. I think it comes with winning some games, too. You feel like you’ve done something, and I think it shows. Those guys want to see the hard work we put in come to life and end up proving something. Those guys work hard. To try to get some extra juice or bring some extra juice in the huddle, just try to do as much as I can to get the guys feeling good and like I said, show some emotion. Those guys enjoy when I have a little fun out there.
Q: Drake, you mentioned last year’s game. What do you remember about the environment going in there in that stadium?
DM: Yeah, I think it was a 4:25 game maybe, so it ended up turning into basically a night game there with how dark it gets up here in the north. So, shoot, I remember being – it was freezing cold, I remember that. Other than that, just the atmosphere. It’s in Buffalo. Their fans are very hostile, and I think that’s the energy that they want. The home environment speaks to what their record’s been at home. So yeah, hostile environment, it was cold last time we went there. I remember we were up in the locker room at halftime, and everybody was regrouping, trying to get back ready for the cold. I think it’ll be a little bit better weather this time, but playing on silent count is going to be huge, knowing that. They’re one of the best teams in the league, so we’ve got our hands full going up to their place.
Q: How helpful is it to have Josh [McDaniels]? He obviously has a long history of playing this defense in this system, just being able to kind of pick his brain about the scheme as a whole.
DM: It’s awesome. He’s played them a bunch of times, but it’s also vice versa. They’ve played him a bunch of times, so they know what he likes to do. I think Buffalo does a good job of disguise and trying to mix it up for me, for run looks and for pass looks. They do a good job of mixing that and doing what they do. Most of the time, they’re going to be in a four-down front and play. Their safeties do a good job. They’re doing a good job disguising. Just trying to watch tape on their guys. They’ve got some new pieces in there, but also a lot of the same from last year.
Q: You’ve been complimentary of your offensive line, consistent with it. With Ben Brown in particular, last year, he joined the team, and on a minute’s notice, basically starts at center. You work with him there. He gets the start at left guard this past weekend. Just overall your impressions of him and how he’s responded to his opportunity.
DM: Just stepping up. He comes in here ready to go. He knows that, shoot, one of the inside three goes down, he’s in the game. So, he takes that to heart, and he works really hard. He’s got to know the center position, he’s got to know guard. He’s got a lot on his plate, and he does a great job preparing. It speaks to last year, having to get ready soon and real fast. He came in on Wednesday and started on Sunday. So, it speaks to what he’s prepared for, and I think that O-line room is really gelling and caring about each other. So, I think that’s part of it, too.
Q: Coach Vrabel said after the game on Sunday, ‘Hopefully, we’ll find out where we’re at,’ talking about this game in Buffalo. Knowing how good they are, what do you expect to learn about your team, and if you guys do win, what would that mean?
DM: It’s a great gauge for us. See how much – like I said, see what we’ve got. We’re competing on the road in a tough environment, and it’s one of the first times we’ll do that as a team. Battling through, playing four quarters of football, that’s going to matter. Playing on the road, four quarters matters. You can’t just play a half, and you can’t just show up at the beginning and not at the end, but playing full four quarters, going into hostile environment and bringing our own energy. There are not going to be many Pats fans, but we do travel well, so hopefully there will be. From there, just also not taking it as an end-all-be-all for this week. We’ve got a long season ahead, but this is a great checkpoint to see what we’ve got and what we can handle.
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