New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will participate in the biggest game of his life on Sunday.
Maye, who has been superb this season and was even named a finalist for NFL MVP, has consistently risen to the occasion throughout his sophomore campaign — but the biggest challenge yet will come against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship.
How will he respond? What are the expectations?
New England head coach Mike Vrabel answered those questions during his press conference on Wednesday.
“Lead our offense, be the conductor, and help us handle the environment,” Vrabel said, per team-provided video. “Find as many positive plays as you can, take care of the football, own the operation, and then you’re gonna have to make some big time throws. That’s just kinda how these things go.
“It’s no different than what we’ve expected of him the entire season.”
Maye has been rather up-and-down throughout the postseason, fumbling the ball six times and turning it over fix times across a wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers and divisional round victory over the Houston Texans.
If that trend continues, there won’t be much reason to expect a trip to Super Bowl LX.
The Patriots have seen what putting the sophomore signal-caller in the right positions can do for their overall success, though, so if they can do that there will be reason to believe he can lead them to the promised land. It’s a team game, so do your part and he’ll do his.
