Former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye made league history as the New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos to advance to the Super Bowl.
The New England Patriots underwent a lot of change in the 2023 offseason when they drafted quarterback Drake Maye out of North Carolina with the No. 3 pick in the draft.
In January, the Patriots moved on from legendary head coach Bill Belichick and promoted Jerod Mayo.
A season later, New England fired Mayo and hired Mike Vrabel as its head coach. (Belichick was hired as head coach of the Tar Heels in December of 2024, for those following the timeline.)
With a full reset in place in New England, Maye has had an incredible second season in the NFL. He's put himself in the league MVP conversation.
On Sunday, Maye had to battle a stout Denver Broncos defense and ridiculously snowy weather conditions to lead the Patriots to a 10-7 win in the AFC championship in front of 76,682 fans at Mile High.
Maye didn't do much throwing the ball in the snow, going 10-of-21 passing for 86 yards. He added 65 yards and one touchdown on 10 rushing attempts. (He also secured the victory with a seven-yard run that gave New England a first down on the final drive.)
Per Underdog, Maye became the first quarterback in league history to throw for under 100 yards in the AFC Championship Game and advance to the Super Bow.
Per the NFL, Maye is set to become the youngest quarterback to start in the Super Bowl since Dan Marino quarterbacked the Miami Dolphins in a 38-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX.
Following the game, Maye told reporters his goal against the Broncos was to protect the football instead of being aggressive, believing the defense would contain Denver backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
"We were running the football and protecting the football," said Maye, via NFL Media. "Once we got those three points out of halftime, that was a huge drive. Just protect the football and let our defense keep doing their thing.
"It was tough elements for our offense, but (both) defenses were playing great. Really just give ourselves a chance to not lose the game and turn the ball over or do something where we put our defense in a bad spot."
Maye has an opportunity to do something Marino could not. The former Tar Heels signal caller can become the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl.