Patriots quarterback Drake Maye accounted for two of the Patriots’ five turnovers in Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Steelers, and one of those came at a pivotal moment of the game.
Down 14-7 on third-and-goal from the Steelers’ 2-yard line, Maye threw a bullet to open wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in the end zone. The pass was tipped at the line by defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and intercepted by cornerback Brandin Echols.
Head coach Mike Vrabel was asked Monday morning on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” if it should have been a back-pylon throw to Boutte.
“It shouldn’t have been a flat one,” Vrabel said. “Obviously, just having an idea of where that guy is and being able to put some air under it. Those are things we have to be able to see and get the spacing that we need and be able to keep it out of harm’s way.”
Maye acknowledged Sunday afternoon that he could have put a different “flight” on the ball.
Vrabel was asked about Maye’s ability to stay in the game through the Patriots’ five-turnover performance. The Patriots had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation, but a fourth-down completion to DeMario Douglas came up short of the first-down marker when the young wide receiver caught the pass and ran backwards in an attempt to get around defenders to pick up more yardage.
“We just can’t keep testing it over and over and over again,” Vrabel said. “But I do appreciate the resiliency of him and this football team and our ability to continue to fight and continue to stay in it and compete, and it just has to be cleaner so that we’re not always in that situation.”
The Patriots, who are just 3-16 at home over their last 19 games, play another game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday when the Panthers come to Foxboro. The 1-2 Panthers are coming off a 30-0 win over the Falcons.
