Why did Patriots take the ball out of Drake Maye’s hands on 4th-and-1?
Trailing by 13 points on their first possession of the second half, the New England Patriots offense drove down the field and set up inside the Arizona Cardinals’ 5-yard line.
After a 3rd-and-1 run up the middle was stuffed, New England kept the offense on the field on fourth-down. Another run up the middle was stopped short leading to a turnover on downs.
Despite describing this exact situation throughout the year when discussing the possibility of using Drake Maye’s legs in the run game, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt took the ball out of his quarterback’s hands in both instances.
When asked if using Maye’s skillset in that situation was a consideration after the game, head coach Jerod Mayo responded, “You said it. I didn’t.”
“It’s always my decision,” Mayo later said in a follow-up. “I would say the quarterback obviously has a good pair of legs and does a good job running the ball. We just choose not to do it there.”
Beyond running Maye on a keeper or giving him the option, New England has also not called a quarterback sneak for the rookie this season. According to the QB, that is not due to personal preference.
“I was a good quarterback sneaker in college. Im a big dude, heavier than people think. I think there’s definitely a conversation for that,” he explained. “I think it’s tough to stop a 6’5 dude for one-yard. But also at the same time, Rhamondre is pretty dang good at getting one-yard as well.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened. But, definitely a time and place for [the quarterback sneak].”
After New England’s first trip of the day to the red area was stopped short, they soon found themselves in a 20-point hole en route to the Cardinals securing a 30-17 victory. It was more of the same from what they’ve seen all season.
“It’s frustrating, kind of the same things keep showing up. That’s probably the most frustrating part,” Maye said. “Not capitalizing when we get down to the red zone or the goal line, kind of make it a one score game. Those things just keep showing up over and over.”