FOXBOROUGH, Mass - There weren't many highlight plays during the New England Patriots embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
However, the only one did involve rookie quarterback Drake Maye and second-year receiver DeMario Douglas.
At the end of the first half, Maye saw the officials throw a flag and decided to take full advantage of the free play.
He fired the ball deep, and Douglas made an impressive adjustment to catch the ball in the end zone.
And after the game, A to Z Sports asked Maye about his situational awareness on this play.
"Yeah, kind of seeing a free play. We worked on it this week, and just give those guys a chance when we know we’ve got a penalty to give those guys a chance," he explained. "A negative play on a free play doesn’t hurt, and I think the biggest thing is not to take a hit, so I tried to get it off before I got hit, and Pop made a great play."
As Maye has shown over and over again, if he has the proper roster around him, this team has so much potential. It's clear they already have their quarterback, but it's the rest of the team that they need to figure out.
But, the connection between Douglas and Maye is heating up, which is what we've been waiting for after the receiver's promising rookie season. It just needs to be more consistent.
For Maye to have that awareness as a rookie is already impressive, so imagine his jump from Year 1 to Year 2 and beyond.
He's going to be a force in this league.
