Drake Maye does just enough in Patriots Wildcard win over the LA Chargers

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Drake Maye does just enough in Patriots Wildcard win over the LA Chargers

Karen Guregian · MassLive

Mon, Jan 12, 2026 ·

3 min read

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FOXBOROUGH - One of the bigger storylines heading into Sunday night’s Wildcard round showdown between the Patriots and LA Chargers was how Drake Maye would handle his playoff debut?

That was the only remaining unknown with respect to the Patriots quarterback, who posted an MVP worthy regular season campaign after leading the league with a record-setting 72% completion percentage.

Ultimately, it was bit of a mixed bag for Maye, who was under constant duress from the Chargers pass rush. They made life in the pocket quite uncomfortable for Maye.

In the end, Maye settled in and did what was needed. He finished 17 of 29 for 268 yards with a touchdown, and a pick in the Patriots 16-3 win, advancing them to the division round.

Mostly, Maye beat the Chargers with his legs, with 66 yards on 10 carries. That’s how he beat pressure, even while being sacked 5 times.

Rhamondre Stevenson , with 128 all-purpose yards, was also instrumental in the win as the Patriots hosted their first playoff game since 2019.

In terms of throwing the football, Maye didn’t have the best start. He was picked off on a deflected pass in the first quarter, and finished the half completing just 40% of his throws (6-for-15, 95 yards).

Maye’s legs bailed him out more than anything, with 55 yards on 5 carries in the first half, with the Patriots owning a 6-3 lead at the outset.

He added on to that rushing total in the second half. And, after having to settle for field goals the first three quarters, finally put together a touchdown drive in the the fourth quarter.

Of course, with the Chargers deploying a lot of two safeties high, daring the Patriots to run, that’s exactly what they did at the start.

The Chargers, who sported the best deep defense in the league, didn’t let Maye get into the long game especially in the first half.

His biggest pass play was a 48-yard pass on a dump off to Rhamondre Stevenson.

Maye also had early trouble connecting with Stefon Diggs , who caught just one pass on four targets while finishing with two catches for 16 yards.

Maye was better in the second half, although a strip sack and fumble derailed a possible scoring drive on the second possession.

After that, he got the deep ball humming with connections of 19 yards to Hunter Henry and 42 yards to Kayshon Boutte .

The set up a 39-yard field goal by Andy Borregales .

Touchdowns were hard to come by on both sides. The Patriots, however, broke through at a pivotal time, with Maye leading a 7-play, 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter. He finished it off with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry to put the Patriots up 16-3 with 9:45 to go.

Heading in, he understood the importance of his role and how much of an influence he had on the Patriots fate.

“My job is huge. It’s big,” Maye said. “I’ve got to play well for us to win. I know that’s the nature of this league and the nature of the position. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”

In his playoff debut, Maye played well enough to lead the Patriots to victory.

The defense had a big say in the final outcome, sacking Justin Herbert 6 times, but the second-year quarterback hung in, withstood a ferocious pass rush, and helped advance the Patriots to the division round against the winner of Monday night’s Houston Texans-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup.

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