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The New England Patriots NFL rivals already know Drake Maye’s biggest weakness.
His nightmare showing in Super Bowl LX might have surprised some connected to the New England Patriots, but the team’s rivals already knew all about Drake Maye’s biggest weakness.
That weakness was ruthlessly exploited by the Seattle Seahawks during a 29-13 defeat for Maye and Co. at Levi’s Stadium, but the Pats had already been warned, according to Mike Sando of The Athletic.
Sando pointed out how rival coaches had offered a warning about some of the second-year quarterback’s damaging habits in the pocket. Specifically, how “Maye is going to look exactly where he is supposed to look for as long as he is supposed to look. He will stay there and that is why he takes sacks. If you can break that timing, you can get after him.”
Opposing coach before the game observed this:
“Maye is going to look exactly where he is supposed to look for as long as he is supposed to look. He will stay there and that is why he takes sacks.
“If you can break that timing, you can get after him.” https://t.co/r7UgI9ObWa
— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) February 11, 2026
This very tendency was called out by a member of the Seahawks just before Maye committed arguably the biggest mistake of the game. An error in judgement borne from how heavy pressure and elaborately disguised coverage exposed how far Maye still has to go in his development if he’s going to justify MVP-level plaudits in the future.
Seahawks Knew Drake Maye’s Bad Habits
Maye knows he was far from his best on the biggest stage, but any attempts at making amends must involve solving the key flaw the Seahawks expected to see. Former New York Giants free safety Julian Love knew what was coming, even before he snatched an inaccurate and desperate throw from Maye in the fourth quarter that scuppered any hopes of a Patriots comeback.
Love told teammates on the sideline how Maye was playing like a “Classic young quarterback. As soon as the back foot hits, he’s going to where he wants, but he’s pausing for a second to confirm he’s open. He’s not blindly doing it like Stafford.”
The negative comparison to Los Angeles Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who beat Maye to the NFL MVP award, is another reminder New England’s starter has room to grow. In more ways than one.
It was understandable Maye would pause in the pocket when under siege from a relentless pass rush and faced with a changing picture on the back end. While his hesitation led to some of the Seahawks’ six sacks, the way those rival coaches forewarned, another of Maye’s key weaknesses had more to do with Love’s interception than a young signal-caller making certain of his reads.
Patriots Must Fix QB1’s Core Weakness
Perhaps the most important part of Love’s in-game coaching points for himself and his fellow defensive backs was the 27-year-old declaring his intention to “stay patient.”
This spoke to the Seahawks knowing all about Maye’s tendency to occasionally force the ball into coverage. His gunslinger instincts and faith in his obvious arm talent can lead Maye to targeting big plays even when they aren’t there.
Head coach Mike Vrabel called out Maye’s habit of trying to “win it all in one play,” after Week 3’s defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a damaging preference teams will continue to exploit by staying in deep coverage and waiting patiently for Maye to force the issue.
He’s more likely to take those kinds of chances when under intense pressure. It means fixing a woeful offensive line should still be Vrabel’s top priority, but the Patriots also need to coach Maye out of some worrying traits.
The franchise’s greatest successes were built on Tom Brady taking whatever defenses gave him within the confines of coordinator Josh McDaniels’ offense. McDaniels must foster the same patience from Maye to avoid reruns of the young passer’s Super Bowl disaster.
James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko
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