How Drake Maye reportedly improvised play that sealed Patriots’ Super Bowl berth

New England Patriots

Maye won a footrace to the first down marker, reportedly calling his own number on an improvised bootleg

With the game on the line, Drake Maye won a footrace to the first down marker.

The Patriots were clinging to a three point lead and looking for a final first down that would allow them to run out the clock against Denver in the AFC title game last Sunday.

The plan, it appeared, was to hand the ball off to Rhamondre Stevenson. But, with a bunch of orange jerseys rushing into the backfield, Maye kept the ball himself and ran in the other direction on a naked bootleg.

Maye beat Denver’s Jonah Elliss to the spot, got the first down, and the Patriots were able to kneel down three times and end the game.

The play looked smooth, but according to the Boston Herald‘s Andrew Callahan, it wasn’t drawn up for Maye to keep the ball. He reportedly called his own number and kept the ball without warning his teammates.

“I hit my block, and all the defenders started running the other way,” Patriots center Garrett Bradbury told Callahan. “I’m like, ‘What? Oh my God.’”

“After the game, Drake’s like, ‘I debated telling you guys if I was gonna (keep) it or not. But I just decided not to,” Bradbury said.

Maye said that it was a “cool moment” that led to his favorite play, victory formation. He saw an opportunity to race Elliss coming off of the edge and took it.

“We were in big personnel running the same deal to the right, a little stretch play, and at some point they get lackadaisical and got a chance to get around the edge,” Maye said. “I thought he was going to track me and knock me down but I got enough to pick up the first. Coach [Vrabel] will probably be mad about not getting out of bounds, but at that point, it doesn’t matter when you get the first down.”

Jonah Elliss is the younger brother of Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss, who forced the turnover that set up the Patriots’ only touchdown. Elliss forced Jarrett Stidham to fumble and the Patriots recovered the ball in the red zone.

Maye took advantage of the good field position and scored on a quarterback keeper.

It wasn’t his strongest performance as a passer, but Maye used his legs to help propel the Patriots into the Super Bowl.

Clinching a spot to play in the game felt like a full-circle moment after watching as a spectator a decade ago.

“I think when I was in seventh grade, my dad said if the Panthers made it [to the Super Bowl] we were going to go. It was heartbreaking, they lost to the Broncos. But, what an experience for a kid my age who loves football, loves quarterbacks. That was Peyton [Manning’s] last game, and what a hall-of-fame career he’s had. So, pretty cool to be full circle coming back here ten years later and I think it’s a special moment for the team.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.