The love Drake Maye has been receiving for leading the New England Patriots back from the brink of irrelevance seems to know no bounds. But of course, the sophomore sensation’s biggest source of love and support is his wife, Ann Michael Maye.
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The Patriots’ QB1 has been anything but shy when it comes to celebrating his second half. So even though he’s currently in the midst of preparing for his AFC Championship debut against the Denver Broncos, he still took the time to gush over her a bit more this week.
During the Patriots’ most recent press scrum, the former Carolina Tar Heel suggested that he and his beloved try to keep their respective competitive fires alive by facing off in various competitions. Sometimes that could mean board games, and more recently, Ann has found herself wanting to settle things on the tennis court.
“It could be board games. She started playing Mah Jong. I haven’t got into that, but it’s usually something like that, or playing battleship or cards or anything that goes off of me playing [with] her. We pick up tennis a little bit in the offseason,” revealed Maye.
“I try to take it easy on the shoulder a little bit, but she’s picked up tennis and will try anything that we can compete in,” he added.
Unfortunately for Ann, it’s almost impossible to be more competitive than an NFL quarterback. Maye admitted that as much. Whether he’s squaring off against his wife or the Houston Texans’ top-ranked pass rusher, the 23-year-old doesn’t want to lose.
“Any time the score is being kept, you want to win,” said Maye. Where others may feel the need to “flip a switch” on game days, the Patriots QB1 doesn’t have to since he has a natural compulsion to win.
“I’ve kept that mentality my whole life,” said Maye. “That’s for my older brothers to playing my wife in something to playing out and playing football… It doesn’t matter if it matters or not. Winning is more fun.”
That inherent drive is what Maye’s head coach, Mike Vrabel, will be banking on come Sunday afternoon when they are tasked with scoring against the Broncos, who have the third-stingiest defense in the NFL. Conveniently enough, however, that’s exactly what the oddsmakers are forecasting, listing New England as -4.5 point favorites while offering a point total of 42.5.
The comeback on the home team is a dead even +200. But given the potency of this Patriots offense, which happens to be the second-highest scoring team in the league, it’s safe to say that the sharp money will be on New England and their overly-competitive quarterback this weekend.
