
The New England Patriots couldn't close out the job.
Ultimately, the Seattle Seahawks' suffocating defense was just too much for second-year quarterback Drake Maye in a 29-13 Seattle win on Sunday in Super Bowl LX. Then again, that doesn't mean the former No. 3 pick is just going to deal with his fate and be satisfied with an MVP-caliber season.
If anything, he wants to remember this sadness and use it as motivation to come back stronger than ever next season. Not only for himself, but all of his teammates.
"That's what I told the guys in the locker room, man. This is fuel. If it's not, then I don't know what this feeling would do for you. Because this is tough," Maye said while barely holding it together at the podium, according to NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman.
Maye took huge strides in his second year in the league. He fell just one first-place vote shy of beating Matthew Stafford for the MVP award, and he led the Patriots to the best record in the AFC and their first trip to the Super Bowl of the post-Tom Brady era.
Then again, we've seen some all-time greats make it to the big game and never return. It happened to Dan Marino, to Cam Newton, and it's happening to modern stars like Joe Burrow.
Nothing is guaranteed, and this is the toughest competition in professional sports. Still, Maye is just getting started, and with that type of work ethic, he will probably have another shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy.
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