Tar Heel legend Drake Maye and Patriots fall in Super bowl blowout, 29-13

SPORTS

CHAPEL HILL, NC – Last night’s rankings of Super Bowl performances are in the following order:

The Seattle Seahawks
Bad Bunny’s halftime show
The New England Patriots

The Seattle Seahawks embarrassed the New England Patriots last night, as well as UNC legend Drake Maye.

Maye finished with two touchdowns (that were too little too late), two interceptions, a fumble and 295 yards. The quarterback was on injured reserve early in the week and took a pain-numbing injection before the game in order to play.

The shoulder injury most likely limited his ability to perform in crucial spots. While he could have been rattled by the best defense in the NFL and suffered from mediocre pass protection, his shoulder probably played a large role in several missed throws. In this game, where both quarterbacks faced immense pressure, those throws he missed carried more weight. Sam Darnold, the Seattle Seahawks signal-caller, was able to make a few more throws under pressure than Maye in key situations, which may have been the difference in the game.

Maye overthrew and missed several receivers in pivotal situations where they had opportunities to move down the field. Those opportunities were few and far between with Seattle’s stifling coverage. His offensive line did not help. He has been sacked a historic number of times this postseason. He has been sacked 15 times in their playoff run, which is the second most in NFL history. The second-year QB was taken down six times last night and faced a lot of pressure.

Defense defined this game. Seattle forced New England to punt eight times in the game. While the total yardage and plays run were comparable, Seattle was able to frequently get into field-goal position. The 1st half ended with Seattle up 9-0 from three field goals.

The game really got out of hand when late in the third, Maye fumbled and Seattle scored a touchdown early in the 4th. His two 4th-quarter interceptions after that allowed Seattle to just keep pulling away.

Maye was able to get some touchdowns late, one of which was a deep 24-yard touchdown to fellow Tar Heel Mack Hollins, but it was all midway through the 4th quarter.

The Patriots were clearly not a match for Seattle, but they have a lot of hope for the future. Maye is a generational young signal-caller. Head coach Mike Vrable engineered a historic one-season turnaround after the Pats went 4-13 last year and their defense has some studs, such as cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

They will need to upgrade their offensive line and receiving options in order to stand a chance. The Seattle secondary was all over their receivers and the offensive line could not give Maye a clean pocket. It reminds one of the Cincinnati Bengals (who had great receivers) because, a few years ago, the Bengals lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs despite a few glaring roster holes and an MVP-caliber young quarterback in Joe Burrow. Cincinnati has not come close to replicating that success due to a lack of roster upgrades on its defense and offensive line. On the bright side the Patriots have a much better defense than Cincy had; they just need to make a focused effort to give Maye what he needs to win, particularly in developing their offensive line and giving him an elite wide receiver or two.

The Patriots were a really good team this year with the second-highest scoring offense and a QB who finished second in MVP voting. BUT, Seattle was a great team with a dominant defense. The Patriots can be back with Maye at the helm; they just were not where they needed to be this year to beat a great team.

Thomas Hicks is a journalist with video, PR, and writing experience who studied at UNC and the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Thomas is always looking for work and the next story! He loves working with his camera or with his pen. This reporter can be contacted at thomasjhicks55@gmail.com, LinkedIn: Thomas Hicks and X: ThomasJ_H