NASHVILLE — In his fourth NFL start, Drake Maye delivered what could be the highlight of his rookie season.

Facing third-and-goal at the 5-yard line with five seconds left and his Patriots trailing by seven, Maye jumped, weaved, scrambled and dodged as he waited for a receiver to uncover himself in the zone Titans goals.

Finally, we did it. After getting around rusher Arden Key and with three other Tennessee defenders converging on him, Maye threw the unlikeliest of touchdown passes to running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

DRAKE MAYE MAGICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!

: FOX pic.twitter.com/UvIB3dRi8k

– New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 3, 2024

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The score capped an 11-play, 50-yard drive and sent the game into overtime. The Titans eventually took over, winning 20-17 on a Nick Folk basket, but Maye’s elusiveness and playmaking ability had his teammates buzzing.

“It’s Drake,” cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. “Honestly, no one was surprised. Drake does stuff like this all the time. He fought and did everything he could. I’m proud of him, happy for him.

From snap to throw, Maye’s touchdown lasted 11.82 seconds. It was the second longest time to throw on a touchdown pass since Next Gen Stats began tracking such metrics in 2016, trailing only fellow last-second 2024 draft pick Jayden Daniels thrown a week earlier for Washington.

“Drake is just phenomenal,” wide receiver Kendrick Bourne said. “He continues to show it week after week, and I’m just proud of him. We have to continue to be behind him – helping him block, catching the ball, running good routes – so we can get his full potential. But when you have someone like that, it encourages you to try harder, and that’s what we want as a unit: for everyone to do their best, because that’s clearly him.

Maye’s legs were the greatest — and, for long stretches, only — asset of the Patriots’ offense in Sunday’s game. He passed eight times for 95 yards and five first downs, far surpassing the meager rushing totals posted by New England’s running backs. Stevenson, Antonio Gibson and JaMycal Hasty combined for 12 carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.

Despite missing the second half of the Jets game, Maye has more total rushing yards over the past three weeks (159) than the entire Patriots running back room. His 209 rushing yards this season are already the third-highest total of any New England QB in the last 30 years, behind Matt Cassel’s 270 in 2008 and Cam Newton’s 592 in 2020.

No Patriots signal-caller has rushed for 95 yards in a single game since Steve Grogan in 1976.

As a passer, Maye went 29-for-41 for 206 yards and a score behind an offensive line that struggled to keep Tennessee’s passers at bay. A week after being knocked out in a win over the New York Jets with a concussion, the 22-year-old was sacked four times and hit nine times, not counting the contact he absorbed in rushing.

“(I saw) the mental toughness and the ability to make plays with his legs, which he’s already shown,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “He gave us a chance to win the game.”

As encouraging as Maye’s latest outing was, it wasn’t perfect. The young quarterback turned the ball over three times with two interceptions and a strip-sack. Maye’s first two giveaways gave Tennessee the ball deep in New England territory, with the second setting up a Titans touchdown with 4:27 remaining. The third – a deep heave by Kayshon Boutte in the first and 10th overtimes – ended the game.

“Look, he’s a guy trying to make a play,” Mayo said. “He’s trying to make a play. And I think sometimes, even though he’s played, sometimes we forget how young he is.” He will continue to develop and he will be a good quarterback in this league. We will all learn from this, including me.

Maye focused more on his mistakes than his game-winning touchdown when he spoke with reporters after the game. He called his final pass a “stupid decision” that he wished he could come back from, “especially in this situation.”

“I made some bad decisions, like that one at the end,” he said. “We had a chance to go out there and at least tie it at our own 40, and I think that was the first down. So I just have to be better. Some decisions I made throughout the match had an impact on the result. I take that upon myself. … We found a way at the end of the fourth and we just came through. So we have to go back and learn from it – especially me.

When asked about the touchdown, Maye praised Stevenson’s ability to discover and make a contested catch.

“But we ended up failing,” he added, “so this game doesn’t really matter at this point.”