How the Patriots managed Drake Maye’s shoulder in Super Bowl LX

Drake Maye's right shoulder injury became one of the top storylines leading up to Super Bowl LX. Although the New England Patriots' quarterback was not given an injury designation for the game and told reporters during his final press conference he was "feeling great," his shoulder did end up requiring some extra attention for the game. Postgame, Maye shared he got a shot in his shoulder.

"I shot it up, so not much feeling," he offered, when asked how the shoulder felt. "It was good to go, and it felt all right."

Asked if the shoulder impacted his play at all, Maye replied "I think it would be hard to say that. I was feeling good enough to be out there."

"I wouldn't put the team in harm's way to not be myself," he added. "Just didn't make plays tonight."

Whether it was his shoulder, nerves playing in the biggest game of his life, a pressure rate allowed of over 50% by the offensive line, or most likely some combination of the three, Maye did not look like himself on Sunday night. Through the first three quarters he was 8-of-18 for 61 yards, with five sacks taken and a fumble lost. In particular his accuracy issues stood out, which has been a theme throughout the playoffs.

Late in the statistical numbers improved as Seattle moved into more of a prevent defense. Still he was sloppy and indecisive at times, including interceptions on back-to-back drives.

"It hurts no doubt, definitely hurts," Maye said after the game, reflecting on the loss and the season. "It’s been a long ride but they played better than us tonight and they deserved to win that game. Speaking for the whole team and myself, just what a journey it’s been for us. I love this team, all those guys in the locker room and we left it all on the field and I know a lot of guys did that tonight, but we just came up short we didn’t play our best and that’s what happens."

When asked about Maye's performance after the game, head coach Mike Vrabel pointed to the team's effort as a whole.

"We can't sit here and try to put it on one guy. You’ll be disappointed because that will never happen," Vrabel said. "It starts with us as a coaching staff and making sure that we are doing our part and then we have to be able to execute and got to be able to protect. When we do protect, we have to be able to progress through and throw the ball to the guy that is open and help the quarterback and then he’s got to be better. That’s just how it goes and that’s never going to change."