Patriots QB Drake Maye Transcript 10/15
PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 15, 2025
Q: This might not be totally related to this year’s challenge, but last year, playing down there. The play with 12.83 seconds, scrambling around, finding Rhamondre [Stevenson], what did that play ultimately mean to you in terms of confidence or any special aspect?
DM: Yeah, it would’ve been special if we had won the game. That’s the biggest thing I remember; we didn’t come up with a win. I made a bad decision in overtime, and I had Hunter [Henry] on that play earlier. So, Rhamondre made a great play, but yeah, I wish we would’ve come out with a win. So, that’s the goal this time going down there, and we’ve got a tough challenge. They’ve got some good guys on defense, some good players. Some of them from last year, they made some plays on me and on us, so I’m looking forward to getting down there.
Q: One of the things that Mike [Vrabel] talked to us today about were ways that you can help support the running game better. What does that mean to you? What does that look like for you when it comes to supporting guys like Rhamondre, TreVeyon [Henderson] and the group?
DM: Just giving them confidence. The backs and up front, just getting to the line with urgency. Mixing up the cadence maybe a little bit, I think, would help, keeping the D-line on their toes. Then from there, just keep being positive. If there needs to be, change tone a little bit in the huddle before a big run or down on the goal line. Run game rules, just get guys going to the right backers or wherever they need to go, and get into the right play. So, that’s what my focus is, and I think I can do more of helping the guys out outside the play, just mojo in the huddle and kind of give them some urgency.
Q: Coach Vrabel talked a little bit about how it ended for him in Tennessee. He sort of opened up a little bit about that today. For you as a player, is there a little extra for you and your teammates going into Tennessee on this kind of game?
DM: Nothing major. The way Coach Vrabel handles it is what leads into how we’ll handle it. He’s focused on this team and not worried about going back to a place he coached for a long time and had some great success. So, he’s not treating it like a big deal, so it’s kind of bleeding into us. We’re treating it like another week, another opponent, and treating it the same. The way he’s handling it is the right way.
Q: What’s his messaging been to you guys about that, knowing that we’re going to ask about his history there, going back, and you’ll inevitably hear some of the noise? What does he say to you guys?
DM: Just ignore some of the noise. Ignore some of the noise of him going back to a place where he coached at, of us kind of having some success and getting put on a hype train of the success we’ve had. Also, it’s a challenge for us to go keep proving it week in and week out. That’s been our main focus. Keep going, ignore the noise and know that if we keep playing like this, we’ll have a real shot once the playoffs come, but that’s a long way away, so just attack it one week at a time.
Q: On that second touchdown to DeMario Douglas that got called back, what does it say about the team that you guys were able to bounce back from that so quickly and then go on to still get seven points out of it with that pass to Kayshon [Boutte]?
DM: We’re always – don’t blink. Don’t blink in the huddle. You can’t control what the call is. No matter whether it should have been this or that, I think the guys are great about just responding and not worrying about it. I never see any blame in the huddle, or nothing goes on. The guys are, surprisingly, not even complaining about the refs. They’re just going to the next play, and that’s how we’re attacking it. I’m really proud of the guys and how we’ve handled some long distances this year, and I try to do my best to stay out of some long distances.
Q: What would you say is the biggest difference in you as a quarterback from that game in Tennessee to now?
DM: Just another year of playing football in this league is the biggest thing. More experiences of making throws, studying opponents, studying different defenses. The guys around us. We’ve got new guys, new players that help make my job easier. The guys up front have been playing their butts off. The guys in the pass game, we’ve got a lot of different guys that can make plays and can hurt the defense, so that keeps them on us. That’s the biggest thing is just more experience for myself, and then the guys around me, they’ve been great.
Q: We’ve seen you do those individual drills with two hands on the ball with an edge coming up. We’ve seen you do it in the game, too. How much does that, those drills, help you protect the football in the pocket when you’re moving around?
DM: It’s cool to see it translate. The biggest thing that coaches want to see in individual drills and in practice is things translating to the game. I take it really seriously to put two hands in the pocket and try not to run around with one hand. That hurt me last year in Tennessee, I think, on a fumble. So, just trying to have those little things in the memory bank that, man, hurt the football team and just trying to have that in the back of my mind.
Q: Is that an internal clock thing? Like the awareness in the game on Sunday, you have someone coming on the backside, you can’t really see him.
DM: Yeah, you’ve just kind of got a sense in there. Playing quarterback for a long time, you’ve got a sense of when things are closing in and where defenders are at. I can do even better when the pockets have been cleaned, not running out quick and getting to the backside of the field on some of the progressions. So, that’s what I’m working on. We still have some stuff, some meat left on the bone.
Q: The playoffs are obviously a long ways away, but when did that feel within reach for this group? Because there seems to be a sense, and you just mentioned, that’s something that’s possible if you guys continue.
DM: I got ahead of myself a little bit there. I think we’re just trying to keep going, one week at a time. That’s been the goal since we got here. What Coach Vrabel has put on the goals of winning the division, making the playoffs and having home playoff games. So, that’s been the goal in mind since we got here. So, it’s not too early for me to get ahead onto it, but it is a little bit early calling it. So, just trying to keep playing, and if it happens to get there, that’ll be some fun.
Q: Drake, during the game the other day, I think it was the first half, the team published a video of some of the defensive guys on the sideline watching you play. I think it was Harold Landry [III] who said, ‘Man, Drake looks like he’s in flow state right now.’ Do you feel that while it’s happening? Do you feel like, just even game-to-game right now with the way you play, that you’re in a zone?
DM: Yeah. Playing quarterback, you kind of get the feeling some. Being in a dome, you kind of feel like you’re spinning it well. It’s not really like – you kind of feel that more in basketball, being in the flow state and the heat check. In football, the breaks where you’re sitting down and sitting on the sideline, they kind of break it up. But no, I think there’s times out there in a dome where you’re spinning it well and you feel good. Nothing in particular. Those guys had some good plays, and I just threw it to some guys that were open.
Q: We’ve seen you push the ball downfield more, it feels like, in the past couple weeks. Is that a testament to your comfort in the offense, rapport with receivers? Is that game plan thing? What would you say is the reason for that?
DM: We always have them called. It’s just me letting them go, or me or the defense not giving it to us. I think that’s really how deep shots work. We’re trying to get a look and trying to get one-on-one. We say one-on-one is open in this league, so give each guy their chance one-on-one downfield. We had some chances of that last week and the week before. So, just trying to keep making plays, and if they don’t give it to us, just be smart and know that we can come back to them.
Q: I think you’ve had four different guys be the leading receivers so far through six weeks. Is that about the game plan that you’re going in with with Josh [McDaniels] and Mike, or is that just about having trust in every guy who’s a pass catcher on this team?
DM: Yeah, I’ve got trust in a lot of guys going out there with us. I’m targeting a lot of different players because I’ve got trust in them, and it starts out here in practice. It starts back in training camp and different players making plays. It’s just a testament to this offense and a testament to the guys wanting to learn the offense, be in the right spot and keep doing the right things over and over because it builds trust with me targeting them and giving them a chance with the football.
Q: What’s the best touchdown dance so far this season?
DM: Best touchdown dance so far? That’s a good one. I like Pop [DeMario Douglas] and Boutte’s on the first one last week, and Big Will [Campbell] got in there himself. Other than that, I’ll say Big Mike [Onwenu] Spike. I’m for the big guys.
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