Drake Maye was seen fighting back tears after the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. After the game, Maye admitted he wanted a do-over so he could fix his mistakes. He was clearly emotional as he now faces a long offseason, heading home without any meaningful hardware.
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However, when former cornerback Aqib Talib saw Maye crying after the game, he was not a fan of it. Talib says there is no crying allowed in football and that a loss like that should make you angry. He adds that it was troubling to see such a young player react that way, suggesting that it could be a sign of things to come.
That said, Talib made one exception for his former team’s QB, Bo Nix, who suffered a devastating ankle injury that kept him out of the AFC Championship game.
“If Bo would’ve cried, I understand that,” Talib stated during a segment on The Arena. “Like, I just broke my f***ing ankle. That’s cry-able… I won this AFC chip, but I can’t go to the chip.”
It must have been a frustrating situation for Nix. He worked his whole life to reach that moment, only for it to be taken away by a freak injury. If you missed it, Nix was hurt in the closing moments of the Divisional Round game against the Bills while taking a kneel-down.
Talib later pointed out that we never actually saw Nix crying. He then added that if Maye had taken a pain-killing injection, he should have been feeling fine during Sunday’s game. In fact, Talib believes Maye must have been feeling fine because the sophomore QB balled out in garbage time.
“I can’t put it on your shoulder because your shoulder was fine. In the fourth quarter, you threw for 235 [yards]. So, I can’t say he was hurt for three quarters. Then in the fourth quarter, you got used to it? Nah, bro, I done shot up a lot of times… It’s not numb. You just don’t feel the pain,” Talib stated.
While he’s more than likely right, it was still a harsh assessment from the Super Bowl-winning cornerback. Even if the Toradol, or whatever Maye was shot up with, helped manage the pain, the thought of the injury undoubtedly played a factor. Every time he dropped back to pass, he knew it would take just one big hit to end his Super Bowl night. That’s why he looked like a shell of himself.
Of course, credit goes to the Seahawks defense, which showed out as the best unit in the NFL. But Maye was an MVP candidate, and he shied away from doing the things that got the Patriots to the Big Game. Things like pushing the ball downfield with accuracy, using his legs, and taking calculated risks.
All in all, the truth about Maye’s shoulder affecting his play likely falls somewhere in the middle. It wasn’t the main factor, but it clearly played a role. At the very least, it’s hard to completely dismiss the injury as a non-issue.
