New England Patriots QB Drake Maye is feeling several emotions heading into his first NFL playoff game.
New England Patriots QB Drake Maye makes his NFL postseason debut against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round of the 2026 playoffs.
Maye, who could win the MVP Award this season, spoke to reporters on Wednesday about the emotions he's feeling heading into the biggest game of his NFL career.
"Yeah, I think what Coach [Mike Vrabel] was preaching is just don't change our process, our preparation, throughout the week, what we've been doing," Maye said. "I think the natural thing is to get a little more amped. I guess that's just natural, as a human, for a big game. Just trust what you've been doing. I told these guys at the end of the season, before the playoffs came, to put some extra work in, to stay after practice. Some guys have been running extra routes and little things like that that can go a long way, but don't do anything out of the ordinary. That's the biggest thing. Trust what you've been doing. Trust the preparation you've been doing all season. Trust your coaches and your teammates around you, and just go out there and have fun. It's playoff football, so you've got to bring your best, and everybody knows that. That's the expectation. Just trying to live up to that and just trying to be myself."
The Patriots are the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. They went 14-3 during the regular season and won the AFC East for the first time since 2019.
When asked by a reporter if he's "nervous" going into the Chargers game, here's what Maye said:
"Yeah, there's obviously a little bit of mixed emotions. I think the biggest thing is I'm excited, excited to get an opportunity to play home playoff games. That's what we starred at the beginning of the season of things we want to do here and goals we want to accomplish, and we've got our chance and opportunity right here. So, take advantage of playing in front of a crowd that's been great all year, a crowd that I expect to be loud, and a night game against an opponent that has had some playoff experience and has a great offense and a great defense. So, we've got our hands full, but I'm looking forward to playing in front of this crowd."
Maye finished the regular season with 4,394 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns.
The UNC product led the NFL in completion percentage (72.0%).