New England quarterback Drake Maye said he received shoulder injections beforeSunday's 29-13 Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
"I shot it up, so not much feeling," Maye said when asked how his shoulder felt. "It was good to go, and it felt all right."
Heading into the Super Bowl, Maye waslimited in practice with a shoulder injuryhe suffered in the AFC championship win over the Denver Broncos. On the team's initial injury report, the 23-year-old quarterback was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury and an illness that caused him to miss a practice.
Despite being removed from the injury report and telling reporters he felt well heading into the game, Maye struggled in the Super Bowl. Maye completed 27-of-43 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns,2 interceptions and a fumble,with most of his passing yards coming in the fourth quarter. Maye's second interception was returned for a touchdown and all but closed the game.
Maye's protection also did him no favors. He was sacked six times on Sunday, compared with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who was sacked once. Patriots rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson struggled against the power of the Seahawks' pass rushers and the quickness of secondary players on blitzes sent by head coach Mike Macdonald on the left side of the offensive line.
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Despite Maye's performance, he didn't know if his shoulder limited him in Sunday's game.
"I think it would be hard to say that," Maye said. "I was feeling good enough to be out there. I wouldn't put the team in harm's way to not be myself. Just didn't make plays tonight."
Maye struggled this postseason. TheMVP runner-upfinished with a 40.0 QBR in the playoffs, which ranked only above the Chicago Bears' Rex Grossman in 2006 and the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning during his final season in 2015. Only Manning won a Super Bowl in that group.
Despite facing four of the top six regular-season defenses in yards allowed, Maye was able to win in different ways and help lead his team to the Super Bowl in his second NFL season. Maye moved the ball on the ground when defenses shut down the passing game or when winter weather conditions limited air yards against the Broncos in the AFC championship game.
In the end, it was not enough to win it all.
"This hurts," an emotional Maye said after the Super Bowl. "It definitely hurts. They played better than us tonight," he said. "They deserved to win that game. For the whole team and myself, what a journey it's been for us. I love this team and those guys in the locker room. We left it all on the field and just came up short. We didn't play our best, and that's what happens. ... It's going to sting for a while, but that's what you sign up for."
