FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In the euphoria of back-to-back playoff wins that earned the New England Patriots a trip to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game (Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, CBS), a question lingers that could be the key to New England advancing to the Super Bowl.
Can quarterback Drake Maye hold on to the ball?
Maye has fumbled six times in the playoffs, losing three of them. Had the Los Angeles Chargers or Houston Texans not been as generous with their ball security, and more efficient offensively, Maye’s fumbles might have been more catastrophic.
In 19 games this year, Maye has a league-high 14 fumbles, with Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers), Sam Darnold (Seahawks) and Cam Ward (Titans) tied for second with 11. Of those 14 fumbles, Maye has lost six of them.
“I’ve got to do a better job stepping up and hit guys downfield when we had chances. I have to be better with the football when I’m taking off and running,” Maye said Sunday after beating the Texans. “From there, just know the football is the prized possession. When we don’t turn the ball over, and put the team in the best spots, I like our chances.”
The Broncos’ defense, which plays a 3-4 alignment and challenges offensive lines to identify where its standard four rushers are coming from, probably likes its chances, too.
It will be coming after Maye.
Denver has totaled 71 sacks in 18 games, which ranks first in the NFL by a whopping 14-sack margin. The Broncos’ 68 regular-season sacks set a franchise record, and defensive lineman Zach Allen led the NFL with 47 quarterback hits (8 more than Myles Garrett). Denver’s red zone defense ranks second, and it had five games in which it didn’t allow a touchdown.
Furthermore, Denver totaled seven takeaways in the past two games. So, just as Maye noted how adept the Texans were at “ball hunting,” a similar challenge awaits him this week.
“Obviously, I wish I had some plays back. That’s part of playing good teams in the playoffs,” Maye said.
In front of Maye, rookie left tackle Will Campbell has struggled at times, allowing 10 pressures (tied for second most in NFL) and four sacks (most) in the past two games, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
For his part, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel got straight to the point when asked about the areas to improve this week.
“Take care of the ball. Not let the quarterback get hit,” he said in his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI 93.7 FM.
Just as Vrabel stood by running back Rhamondre Stevenson when he had multiple fumbles early in the season, he did the same with Maye this week — highlighting it as a team-wide issue.
“Ball security, we have to all take ownership. We’ve been through this earlier in the year,” he said. “We have to take care of the ball and protect the guy with the ball. There’s a bit of two-fold there. We have to improve.”
