Patriots' Drake Maye gives Jerod Mayo endorsement amid hot seat rumors

Drake Maye made a point to defend Jerod Mayo and the rest of the New England Patriots coaching staff following their 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Following the loss, Maye turned a question on how Sunday's surprise showing was a good sign that the players have the coaching staff's back to attacking the hot seat rumors surrounding Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

“I think it's some BS, to be quite honest,” Maye said of the rumors. “Coach Mayo, those guys, like I said, we’ve got his back, and he's coached us hard. He wants to win. We all want to win. We're all frustrated. AVP’s been – I feel like – calling great the past weeks.”

There have been some hot-seat rumors surrounding Mayo and Van Pelt as the team's losing streak moved to five games with Sunday's loss. Beyond the losses, Mayo seemingly hasn't made life easier for himself at the podium this season, either. He made a comment following the loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week where he seemed to throw Van Pelt under the bus for his playcalling before clarifying himself.

It doesn't appear a change in leadership is imminent for the Patriots, though. Owner Robert Kraft views Mayo as the right head coach for the Patriots moving into 2025, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported earlier in the day.

Regardless of Mayo's job status, Maye took the blame for the loss while crediting the rest of the team and coaching staff for the way they've handled business late in the year as their playoff hopes have been gone for a while.

“We're just plays away, and it's basically me turning the ball over,” Maye said. “I think it's just a testament to these guys that keep fighting. We keep fighting. Shoot, we're not going to make the playoffs; we're out of the race, and these guys are coming in, frustrated when we don't score. They’ve got energy at practice, and they’ve got energy coming into the game.”

Maye had another impressive showing on Sunday, arguably outdueling MVP frontrunner Josh Allen. He completed 22 of 36 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns with a 90.2 passer rating. His first touchdown pass was an impressive throw to Kayshon Boutte, seamlessly dropping the ball to the wideout in tight coverage on a go route along the sideline.

But Maye wasn't without his warts, either. The Patriots rookie threw a costly red zone interception and he was credited for a fumble on a swing pass that turned into a scoop-and-score for the Bills.

Why Drake Maye said he's ‘proud' to be a part of the Patriots

Even though Maye's two turnovers were game-changing errors, they likely wouldn't have had a chance to win without him. He helped the Patriots get out to an early 14-0 lead before some bad plays on both sides of the ball resulted in 24 straight points scored by the Bills.

As games like Sunday cause some to wonder just how much the Patriots are holding Maye back, he continued to stick up for his team.

“We want to win,” Maye said. “There's guys not even playing that are yelling on the sidelines and wanting to win. So, I think we're building something good, building something that feels right here, and I'm proud to be a Patriot.”

If the Patriots are building something good, they aren't bearing the fruits of that labor this season. At 3-12, they're tied for the second-worst record in the NFL and hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft following Sunday's games. But performances like the loss against the Bills can be good things to build off of moving into 2025 and beyond.