Drake Maye’s stat line from Sunday sure proves that he gave the team a fighting chance. The New England Patriots star completed 28-of-37 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in their 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Yet, more than his numbers, the real story of Week 3 was what didn’t happen: Maye was never checked for a concussion after a heavy hit, leaving many to wonder if the NFL’s spotters had simply missed it.
The moment in question came late in the second quarter, when the Patriots were facing first-and-goal from the Steelers’ 2-yard line. Linebacker Nick Herbig drove Maye to the ground, causing the 23-year-old’s head to bang hard against the turf. Cameras caught the quarterback briefly putting his hands to his helmet before quickly getting back to his feet.
But rather than being pulled for an evaluation, Maye lined up for the next snap, took another hit, and then threw a costly interception tipped by Cam Heyward into the arms of Brandin Echols.
Drake Maye should have been checked for concussion. Threw INT next play. Assume check happening at halftime. pic.twitter.com/jz55LJAQry
— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) September 21, 2025
For CBS Sports lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones, the hit raised red flags that should never have gone unchecked. He pointed out that the signs were there for the independent neurological spotters to act.
“When the quarterback goes down and hits his head, the back of his head like that, that is a mechanism that spotters should look for,” Jones explained.
He also noted that one of the league’s updated concussion indicators is when a quarterback puts his hands to his head, a signal Drake Maye clearly showed: “If you’ve seen enough ball, you know that Drake Maye was not adjusting his helmet for comfort. That was the ‘I got my bell rung’ for lack of a better phrase.”
The CBS Insider further argued that the spotters should have immediately intervened:
“That is where the spotter is supposed to say, ‘Oh, no. Go down, independent neurological consultant, grab him the red hat, and give him a quick concussion protocol test.’ That did not take place.”
While most of the NFL world seemed alarmed by the chain of events, Drake Maye shrugged off the concern after the game.
“No. I felt good,” he told reporters. “I learned from last year, if you get banged up, you’ve got to get back up quick or they’ll spot you. No, I felt fine. I feel good now… It was just two good players that try and get after the quarterback, and that happens.”
For Patriots fans, it must be heartening to see that their QB is showing so much grit. But his comments also highlight the underlying tension in concussion management.
Most players would indeed want to stay on the field, but the NFL’s strict protocol exists to protect them from their own competitive instincts. Typically, when a player shows signs, such as head impact followed by a visible response, the spotters and unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants are expected to remove him for immediate testing.
But as iterated above, in Drake Maye’s case, this step never came. And as Jones emphasized, the absence of intervention represents a “crucial miss” in a system designed to safeguard players’ long-term health.
All told, head injuries going unchecked truly represent a larger issue, something that most NFL teams would hope to see rectified as soon as possible. For if the system continues to miss it, we are just one instance away from catastrophic incidents happening on the field one after another.
