The Green Bay Packers defeating the New England Patriots 27-45 was expected to stir a reaction from Patriots legend Tom Brady. In a conversation with Packers safety Evan Williams, Brady landed a jab at Patriots QB Drake Maye.
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“You guys were both flying,” the former QB said. “Your safety mate, Xavier [McKinney] had two picks. You had one on the sideline. There was some deli meat given out by Drake Maye today.”
“I’m not gonna say that,” replied Williams, choosing to keep it respectful. “He was giving us some gifts for sure.”
Maye’s afternoon went downhill almost as soon as it began. On New England’s opening drive, the Patriots quarterback threw an interception on his very first play, allowing Xavier McKinney to give Green Bay an early defensive breakthrough.
That proved to be a sign of things to come, as Maye surrendered two more interceptions in the first half. The Packers made him pay for those mistakes, converting two of the turnovers into touchdowns to establish a 24-7 advantage. New England eventually fell 45-27 as Maye’s early struggles proved costly.
Despite throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns, Maye couldn’t keep the Patriots competitive against Green Bay. His three interceptions proved particularly damaging, with McKinney recording two and Williams accounting for the remaining takeaway.
The interception monkey Drake Maye tried so desperately to take off his back this season has gotten right back up. He had thrown picks for four games straight before going interception-free against the Raiders and the Jets. Maye was intercepted once by the Chicago Bears and was clean against the Miami Dolphins. Now, with three picks in Week 9, the same old problems have resurfaced.
Maye now has 11 total interceptions this year, surpassing Justin Herbert’s tally of 10. The irony is that the Patriots have a much better offense than the Los Angeles Chargers.
“You can’t put the team in the hole straight off the bat, first possession, first half,” Maye said, accepting his mistakes. “I feel like in the times we had chances to get back into the game, I messed them up, and we had chances to put us back within three points multiple times, and just frustrating.
“I got to do a better job from a whole perspective, communication, doing the little things right, and I just, I wasn’t good. I wasn’t good today. And we got to bounce back, and we’re on a far flight, but we got to bounce back and know that there’s still some games left and we’re battling. We’ve got to battle. I think that’s just, that’s it.”
Williams’ interception was arguably the highlight of the Packers’ defensive performance, as he made an impressive toe-tapping catch along the sideline. The play helped Green Bay maintain its 17-0 lead. He and McKinney proved to be overwhelming for Maye.
Williams and McKinney are easily one of the best safety duos in the league. They both began playing together in 2024, and have been on a great run. Williams led the entire Packers defense with 71 tackles entering the Patriots game, while McKinney followed third among safeties with 34. The latter safety now has an interception tally of five, and was already leading the Packers defense in this stat.
Drake Maye should have estimated their prowesses better.
Not a good memory for Brady, who returned to Gillette Stadium for the first time as a broadcaster after he hung up his boots. It must have been tough to see a Patriots quarterback play that way in the stadium that will always carry his legacy. However, despite that deli meat jab, Brady is appreciative of the younger QB.
“[He’s] been absolutely terrific,” the iconic Patriots QB said of Maye’s career so far. “To come in here in his first year, it was a totally different offense, and it didn’t really showcase what his abilities were. And then he got Josh McDaniels in his second year, who’s really teaching him the cerebral part of the game.
“Over the last two years, I see the maturity. I see the willingness for him to know when he can change the play, when he can’t … and just his overall expectation for himself all the time.”
Drake Maye better use that fuel to get back up in the Patriots’ next game.