Quarterback Drake Maye opened up about a concerning injury after the New England Patriots‘ lopsided 13-29 Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While he exuded toughness during the game, it came at the cost of playing hurt. In his latest confession, the 23-year-old revealed that his shoulder gave out even before taking the field at Levi’s Stadium. And the situation left him with no choice but to take extreme measures.

“My shoulder feels…I shot it up so…not much feeling,” Maye addressed his shoulder issues via 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Joe Murray on X. “It was good to go.”

According to ML Football, Drake Maye said doctors gave him painkillers so he could play in the biggest game. He didn’t sustain a new shoulder injury in Sunday’s game, but it was an aggravation instead. It originally took place during the AFC Championship win over the Denver Broncos. With under four minutes remaining in the third quarter, the signal-caller landed awkwardly on his right shoulder while being tackled. 

The impact was grave, as it kept him out of practice throughout the following week. He couldn’t even attend the team’s last practice in Foxborough. While he pushed through his adversity and didn’t compromise on his playing time on Sunday, his struggles were in plain sight. He went 27-of-43 for 295 yards and hauled in two touchdowns. 

On paper, these numbers don’t seem catastrophic, but those attending the game live or watching closely on TV could see that his passes lacked their usual edge. Throughout the contest, Seattle’s defense kept him under control. The unit forced three turnovers and six sacks. Meanwhile, the turning point came in the fourth quarter, when Maye threw a pass to rookie wideout Kyle Williams. 

However, it landed directly in the hands of Seahawks safety Julian Love, effectively sealing the game. The loss stings, as Maye was the second-youngest QB to start in the Super Bowl. Also, his team entered the league with a deep playoff run. His earlier message reflected this confidence when he returned to practice on Monday. 

“I felt good from the flight and throwing out there today, I think it turned the corner, and I really had no doubt in being 100% for the game,” he said. “This is the Super Bowl. We get two weeks to prepare for it and do whatever we got to do to get it right. I’ve got confidence and feel good.”

Still, Seattle never let them fully click and clinched the Lombardi Trophy. After the loss, head coach Mike Vrabel knew who to blame.

Drake Maye’s head coach calls out his team for Super Bowl loss

The Seahawks took the field as a favored team, and they backed it up right from the start. Mike Macdonald’s team rode a suffocating defense and a dominant night from Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. He played like the last man standing in his group, in which no other player contributed more than five yards to the ground attack.

On the other sideline, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel had nobody who had shown up at the right time. Speaking about the factors that led to their downfall, his answer was straightforward.

“Nobody played good enough for us to win,” he said, pinning the blame squarely on the locker room.

He also made it clear that his team is “disappointed, not discouraged” by the outcome. His disappointment is so valid because Seattle’s defense, aka “Dark Side,” smothered Drake Maye’s offense early in the game. They allowed them to score just three points in the first quarter before kicker Jason Myers added two field goals in the next one.

The Seahawks were up 9-0 by that point, and the momentum remained with Seattle even after halftime. New England managed only one first down in the entire third quarter, while Seattle pushed its lead to 12–0. On the offensive side, the Seahawks again choked their opponents with Walker and QB Sam Darnold leading the way. 

Walker rushed for 135 yards on 27 carries, while Darnold threw for 202 yards and one touchdown while posting just one sack. While the Patriots lit up the scoreboard in the last quarter, the game had already slipped out of reach. Two late interceptions and a final score of 29–13 summed it all up. Vrabel’s assessment wasn’t honest, and it set the tone for what the Patriots must fix moving forward.