FOXBORO — Drake Maye wasn’t alone in his second-half struggles Sunday against the Bills, but it was unusual to see the Patriots quarterback struggle to generate any semblance of offense for two quarters in the 35-31 loss.
The Patriots, as a whole, got off to a hot start, with Maye scoring two rushing touchdowns as his team got out to a 21-0 lead. But everyone — other than running back TreVeyon Henderson — cooled down in the second half.
Maye was just 5-of-12 for 47 yards with an interception in the second half Sunday. He also took three sacks as the Patriots’ offense picked up just three first downs in the final two quarters of play.
“We just have to be better when we’re up,” Maye said. “It starts with me making some throws. And from there, like Coach (Mike Vrabel) says, ‘no naps, not relaxing.’ I didn’t feel like we relaxed, just didn’t make enough plays. Credit to them. And I think it’s one of the things that we’re emphasizing during the week. And gotta do a better job.”
Vrabel said he was confident in his offense to drive down the field and score, down 35-31 with 2:43 left in the game. They turned the ball over on downs after picking up just 5 yards. Maye, who has yet to generate a fourth-quarter comeback in his NFL career — though he’s only had a handful of opportunities this season — was 1-of-3 with a sack on the final set of downs. Facing fourth-and-5 from the Patriots’ 22-yard line, Maye’s final pass was tipped by Bills defensive end Joey Bosa and fell incomplete.
“Came out in the second half and just gotta make a play, pick up the first first down, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Maye said. “Were some throws I wish I had back, but at the end of the day gotta keep the foot on the pedal and keep it going and kind of don’t let them dictate. It starts with me. And we kind of felt during the week that we had a chance this was going to happen, and just gotta keep our foot on the pedal.
“It happened in the first game, they came back, came back. Just gotta make a play and do my part when we had the ball and a chance to win the game, go win the game.”
The Patriots are 11-3 on the season now that their 10-game winning streak has ended. It’s also the second straight game that their offensive production has stalled in the second half. Against a team like the Giants, the Patriots can still hold on and win. They have to prove they can keep their foot on the gas for all 60 minutes next week against the Ravens and in any potential playoff matchup.
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