Maye reacts to costly turnovers in Patriots' Week 11 loss to Rams

There's been a lot to like about New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's rookie season.

It's a small sample size, but the early returns would suggest the Patriots made the right decision by taking him with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He absolutely has franchise QB potential.

One area where Maye has a lot of room for improvement is ball security. It's not an uncommon problem for first-year players, but it's often a costly one, and that was the case in Sunday's Week 11 game against the Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium.

Maye fumbled in the second quarter and threw a game-ending interception late in the fourth quarter as the Patriots lost 28-22 to drop their record to 3-8 at the bottom of the AFC East standings.

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"Yeah, just can't hurt our defense on the fumble, third down. Got to get the ball out," Maye told reporters in his postgame press conference Sunday.

"Can't take a sack there. Same thing I talked about in previous press conferences. Punt, ending the drive with a kick, Coach Mayo preaches ending every drive with a kick. I thought we did some good things, but at the end of the day just wasn't good enough."

The interception on the Patriots' final drive looked like a miscommunication between Maye and his intended target DeMario "Pop" Douglas. Maye threw a pass deep down the middle of the field and the second-year wideout didn't look back for the ball. Rams safety Kamren Kinchens stepped up and picked off the pass to seal the victory.

What happened on that play?

"It was a two-high look and Pop's up the middle, and they're pretty good up front rushing five," Maye explained. "I tried to kind of put it on them and kind of hit them over the linebacker, and Pop was thinking probably deep, but at the end of the day, just got to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing, I guess, got to just talk through more conversations.

"Just goes back to me during the week doing more, talking through different situations, 'Hey, I may put this one on you versus let it rip.' That's about it."

Maye's fumble in the second quarter gave the Rams the football on the Patriots' 12-yard line. The Rams scored on the first play of the ensuing drive when Matthew Stafford connected with wide receiver Puka Nacua for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

Maye finished with 30 completions on 40 attempts for a career-high 282 yards with two touchdowns and two turnovers. He made a lot of good throws, but he has struggled to protect the football.

The rookie QB already has nine turnovers -- six interceptions and three fumbles lost -- in six starts. Two of the Patriots' last three losses were sealed with a Maye interception late in the game.

These mistakes are going to happen. Maye is a rookie, after all. He's also under constant pressure in the pocket because the offensive line isn't very good. He also doesn't have any elite talent around him at the skill positions.

But if the Patriots are going to end the 2024 season on a high note and win some more games, they have to cut down on the turnovers. Maye has to lead that charge.