PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

PRESS CONFERENCE
January 23, 2026

Q: First time I get to ask how practice has gone for the week in your estimation, in your view, heading into this game.

DM: I think we had a good week. I think we had a good week. Proud of the guys. It's the AFC Championship. I mean, what more do we need to be operating at a high level in practice, practicing hard and playing hard? I've been proud of the guys and proud of the coaches and what we've done this week. We look forward to getting out there on Sunday. We've still got some time left to prepare and fine tune some things. Come in tomorrow and then get ready to head to Denver. From there, just looking forward to getting out there and like I said, playing for the AFC Championship.

Q: Do you have a favorite throw from this year? When you look back at the entire season, I talked to some of the receivers and they said the throw to [Stefon] Diggs along the sidelines in Buffalo. Pop [DeMario Douglas] was talking about the one that I think you hit him with in Cincinnati.

DM: Favorite throw, it's hard to think back and pinpoint my favorites.

Q: [Kayshon] Boutte said his catch.

DM: Boutte though, I think a lot of these are – the catch is better than the throw. I think favorite throws, the ones that come to mind are the ones I wish I had back, that's for sure. Favorite throw, I think just probably the next deep one. Probably the next deep one. Throwing the next deep ball, I always look forward to the favorite one.

Q: Stef said the next one.

DM: Did he? Yeah, so the next deep one or the next first down. I love in four-minute when we get a pass, and we finish off the game. I had one to Hunter [Henry] against Atlanta. Throws like that are kind of the most satisfying when you end the game, or in this case, would end the season. That'd be pretty cool.

Q: What's it been like having Mack Hollins back out there for these last few days of practice?

DM: Man, Mack's been awesome. It's been awesome having him back. He's a great player for us, been a great player for us all year. He practices hard. He's one of those guys that brings it every day and has ever since I met him. I know he started off in OTAs and training camp battling a little injury, but since then, he's been all gas, no breaks, and that's how he is. He's staying, running routes after practice. He's doing all the little things. I always see him before the games on Saturday nights, drawing every single play up in the pass plays. He does those things, and you can tell why so many different teams wanted him and how he plays at a high level.

Q: Have you asked him for any Mack Hacks to deal with the Denver air?

DM: Yeah, Mack Hacks, he was just explaining something, talking just a couple minutes ago in the locker room about something in the sauna, wearing some hat that tells you that your head tells you or your mental tells you to get out of the sauna before your body does. So, wearing some triangular hat, I don't know what it is.

Q: Not many firsts left in this team's record books after Tom Brady walked through that door, but he never got a playoff win in Denver. The team has never gotten a playoff win in Denver. What would that mean to you to be the first?

DM: It'd be huge. I mean, just the AFC Championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That'd be huge. Another road environment that's had success in the past. They've had success since Coach [Sean] Payton has been there, and they have great players, and they've got a great team. I know it would be a big-time win, obviously, and I think for us just to play to our standard and play to our road – kind of what we've been doing on the road all season long. I know it's going to be a tough challenge. They've got a great team, so we're going to have a tough challenge, but I'm looking forward to getting out there, and getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.

Q: Do you feel like you guys have been through a lot on the road together? Do you feel like there are any specific environments that have kind of prepared you to go into a place as hostile as Denver? Thinking, specifically, Buffalo on Sunday night?

DM: Yeah, I think both the Sunday night ones, both Buffalo and Baltimore. Those are two teams in the AFC that are good fan bases, big-time teams that have done stuff in the playoffs in the past years with big-time players and great coaches, and I think that environment helped us. The Buffalo game was tight, it was ugly in the first half, and the second half was cool, was special. We had to go on a game-winning drive, and then same deal in Baltimore. We were down early, got down in the second half and had to storm back. So, we've been on the road when we've been up the whole game, we've had times where we had to battle. So, what Coach [Mike] Vrabel has been saying is we've seen a lot of things this year, a lot of different scenarios, a lot of different game situations, and I think we're prepared for a lot. Looking forward to what this team's going to show on Sunday.

Q: Drake, two weeks ago, you were a quarterback without a playoff game. Now, you've gone through a couple weeks and are getting ready for the AFC Championship game. What have you learned about being a playoff quarterback that maybe you didn't know that will help you to get ready for Sunday?

DM: I don't know if it's much that I didn't know, just what I didn't feel. I think the feeling of the intensity, the pressure, the wanting to win so bad. That's the biggest thing, everybody on that field wants to win. I think the biggest thing is just the fan bases, especially our home games. They always talk about the importance of home playoff games. I didn't really understand that until I was in one. Understand what the crowd can do, what the feeling is going to be like going on the road in the playoff games. Looking forward to experiencing that. Really, you've got to play at a high level. Those few plays you want to have back, I can think of a few from the past few games I've played in that I missed touchdown throws, missed a guy in a read, put the ball on the ground, little things like that, how costly they can become. They haven't for us yet, but they could down the road. Protecting the football and little things like that, how important those things are.

Q: Drake, with the biggest game of your life coming up, how do you block out the noise? Do you try to stay away from seeing the experts talk and all that?

DM: Shoot, I'm not worried about what everybody else thinks. You worry about people in this locker room, in this building. It's the biggest game because it's the next one. I think that's the best mentality for this team, and we've had that mentality all year long. I've been proud of how we've approached that. I'm looking forward to getting another chance.

Q: What have been your keys preparing for the noise throughout the course of the postseason? Whether it's playing your first playoff game, now going for your biggest game on the road, the altitude, which you haven't been accustomed to in the past, how have you gone about making sure you're ready for these types of moments?

DM: I think you just prepare. I think prepare and trust your teammates, prepare and trust the confidence in myself. My type of play style as a quarterback, I'm going to go out there and have full confidence in myself for the next throw, the next play, the next time I scramble and run or the next time I do something to try to make a play. I'm going to have full confidence in myself and trust in my teammates. I think that's the biggest thing going into a game like this. Don't lose sight of that, and don't lose sight of what got you here. Try not to make it as big as it is. It's already a big game, so you know that. So, just go out there and do my part, and I think that's what we're trying to preach in the offensive room, especially, is do our part. When we're all 11 on the same page, we're pretty tough to stop.

Q: Has it felt kind of like a baptism by fire, just the defensive fronts you have faced in these playoffs so far? How has that helped you get ready for the Denver defense?

DM: Yeah, we've played some good players all year long. It's like nowadays in this league, everybody's got an edge rusher, or edge rushers, or interior guys that you face that are problems and that are going to make plays. Just not letting those plays beat you and realize that at the same time, that when we do have chances to block them, we'll make some plays and make some plays on them. I like our guys up front. They've done a great job all year. I'm looking forward to seeing how they play and respond this Sunday. I think they'll be able to show some great things.

Q: Drake, you're pretty hard on yourself at times. Do you use those plays that you want back, the throws that you want back as kind of a motivational tool?

DM: I think it's always motivational. What can I do to make that throw the next time, or what can I do to make that play in the next big-time scenario? I think that's what pushes great players and what pushes the past great ones. What can I do when it counts the most in the toughest situation or in the biggest moment of the game to make that play? I think that's what you see in all these famous – whether it's Michael Jordan's "Last Dance," all these great time players or Tom Brady and what he did here, all these greats of wanting to be in those moments. I think that's what makes our sport so special and what makes football so special with my position where I have the football in my hands, and let's see what I can do.

Q: Vrabel is on record saying that he would cut off a part of his finger for a Super Bowl. Would you sacrifice anything for a Super Bowl?

DM: Part of my finger? Well, he doesn't throw the football. So, maybe something on the left hand, but –

Q: It doesn't have to be a finger.

DM: No, I know, Coach. I'll do a lot for the Super Bowl. I won't necessarily say what limb or whatever Coach is talking about, but no, I think that's what you play the game for, and that's what makes the National Football League what it is. I mean, it's special.

Q: Drake, Coach talks about having fun. Do you have a favorite touchdown celebration you see your teammates pull off in the end zone?

DM: Favorite touchdown celebration? My wife asked me what this meant last night. I didn't really have an answer either. Favorite touchdown celebration, I always think Hunter's jump spike is pretty cool. I'll try to give it to the big linemen, let them spike it. I love seeing them spike it. Other than that, I think one of these times I'm going to launch the football as far as I can after I score, so see when that shows up. Any other celebrations?

Q: The Superman one against the Panthers?

DM: I like what Boutte did last week when he just stood up and kind of was looking around. I thought that was cool. Pop [DeMario Douglas] is the best dancer on the team. I think he just needs to dance every time he scores. Big Willy [Will Campbell] in New Orleans hit whatever he – I don't even know what it's called. Who else did something pretty cool? Mack, Mack always does something cool. So, we've got a lot of great celebrations. The defensive ones, when they all run down, it's tough to beat when the defense runs down and they're all 11 posing for the camera, that's pretty sweet, too.