Did Julian Love know exactly what Drake Maye was doing and where he was throwing in Super Bowl LX, as his viral NFL Films mic’d up moment would lead you to believe?
It certainly appeared to be the case when Love, looking more like a center fielder catching a flyball, was perfectly placed and waiting for a Maye interception in the fourth quarter of the Seattle Seahawks’ resounding 29-13 win over the New England Patriots.
So, did he know it was coming? Sort of, but it was more about being properly prepared than anything else.
“I could say that we had it all figured out, but we kinda didn’t. I mean, you never know what’s gonna come up. You have two weeks to prepare; they’re a great team,” Love told Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo on Thursday’s The Insiders. “Early on, I feel like we just saw a certain style kinda component to it, and yeah, as we got more confident as the game went on, we were starting to feel looser, and just were playing faster.”
Any grand designs of New England pulling off an improbable comeback were squashed by Love’s interception with just under nine minutes to play in the game and Seattle leading, 19-7. The pick led to a Seahawks field goal and a 22-7 advantage with only 5:35 remaining.
As Love looked to be waiting in the right place and the right time to snatch Maye’s wayward attempt, he had been similarly placed earlier in the game but came up just short of an INT.
After that, NFL Films captured Love on the sidelines, correctly prognosticating, “I’m gonna get me one.” He was then recorded talking to fellow safety Coby Bryant, describing Maye as a, “classic young quarterback.” He then explains Maye’s tendencies, noting the second-year passer has a “hitch” that can be read for where he’s going with the ball.