Analysts Rally to Drake Maye's Defense After Seahawks Loss

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Analysts Rally to Drake Maye's Defense After Seahawks Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hector Longo | Last updated Sep 16, 2026 7:45 PM ET

Just when you thought the heat on Drake Maye was too much, analytics comes to the rescue.

The folks at Pro Football Focus decided the three fourth-quarter interceptions thrown by the New England Patriots quarterback against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 mattered little.

Despite Maye’s performance on center stage on the National Football League’s Opening Night, he held his ground as the ninth-rated QB in the game by the PFF folks.

Dreadful night in Seattle

Apparently, Maye’s 54.9 NFL passer rating and 10-point output in the loss wasn’t enough, according to PFF, to drop him behind Brock Purdy, who had an “up-and-down performance” to beat the Rams in Australia; Caleb Williams’ role in the 59-point Bears’ explosion against the Panthers; and Jalen Hurts’ three-TD-pass clinic vs. the Commanders.

Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe (29) celebrates with teammates after making an interception during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Maye and the Patriots were back to work on Wednesday preparing for Sunday’s battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After practice Wednesday, Maye noted how critical he tends to be on himself, even if the rankings say otherwise.

Maye toughest on himself

“You always have got to be hardest on yourself. I think that’s the way I grew up in my family. I always felt like being the hardest on yourself, you can always get back to having confidence and that, and that kind of battling that line of being hard on yourself but also having confidence in yourself,” Maye said.

“I think it’s been throughout my whole career of having games where you feel like you did not put out your best work, and even times when you win, there are times where you feel like, ‘Man, I wish we could have done this better,’ or, “We got lucky almost,” in this league. So just finding ways to battle that line and having the ultimate confidence in the guys around me, confidence in my ability and knowing that we can win games in this league.”

Maye’s struggles through the playoffs continued through the opener. In his last five games played, Maye has now thrown seven TD passes and seven interceptions, fumbling the ball seven times.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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