Patriots' Drake Maye Receives Support From Celtics Star

Brown's right. Maye's Super Bowl debut left a lot to be desired. The NFL MVP runner-up went 27-for-43 for 295 yards and two touchdowns (although the stats prop up what was a dreadful showing). He also had three back-breaking turnovers, including a second strip sack of the second half that was returned for a touchdown. The Patriots lost 29-13.

Finding Similarities Between Patriots, Celtics After Super Bowl

But sometimes sports teams need to learn how to lose on the big stage before they can win. These Celtics finally cracked the glass ceiling when they rolled to their 18th title just two years after a Finals defeat that left Brown physically ill.

"I've been there. I've been to the Finals and lost, and I know what that feels like," Brown continued. "I know what that summer feels like. I remember I got sick, physically. Like, we lost in the Finals to the Warriors, and I was so sick that I got sick. ... I was so sick, I really got sick."

After the game, Maye felt just as awful about his performance.

"Tonight, I'd like to have (it) back," Maye said postgame. "I'd like to go back to the beginning and redo it. There are so many plays that can decide and change the game ... There are numerous plays in the first half where I feel like I could have made a better throw or made a better decision. It really just comes down to who makes the plays and who doesn't. And they made plays tonight."

Maye has been known to frequent a Celtics game here and there since being drafted by New England in 2024. So he's seen the banners that hang from TD Garden, and the ones that hang in his home Gillette Stadium.

And just like Brown, maybe this loss in the Super Bowl is exactly what needs to happen to potentially make a Patriots seventh title feel that much sweeter.