Why Patriots QB Drake Maye could be in trouble in Super Bowl LX against the Seahawks defense
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald has been absolutely dominant against young quarterbacks
Drake Maye has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season. The Patriots quarterback is coming off a 2025 season that saw him lead the NFL in completion percentage (72%) and yards per attempt (8.9). Maye also finished in the top four in both passing yards per game (258.5) and touchdown passes (31). The 23-year-old was so good that was named one of five MVP finalists.
If the Patriots are going to win Super Bowl LX, they're likely going to need a big game from Maye, but that won't be easy to pull off and that's mostly because the second-year player will be facing the one head coach who has been the Kryptonite for all young quarterbacks: Mike Macdonald.
Since taking over the Seahawks' head coaching job in 2024, Macdonald has been dominating young signal callers: Quarterbacks who are in their first or second-year in the league have gone 0-6 against Macdonald's Seahawks and most of their performances have been ugly.
Let's check out the list:
QB (Year): Game date | Stats | Final score |
Bo Nix (Rookie): Week 1, 2024 | 26/42 for 138 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, sacked 2 times | Seahawks 26-20 over Broncos |
Caleb Williams (Rookie): Week 17, 2024 | 16/28, 122 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, sacked 7 times | Seahawks 6-3 over Bears |
Spencer Rattler (Second-year): Week 3, 2025 | 28/39 for 218, 1 TD, 1 INT, sacked 2 times | Seahawks 44-13 over Saints |
Jayden Daniels (Second-year): Week 9, 2025 | 16/22 for 153, 0 TD, 1 INT, sacked 4 times | Seahawks 38-14 over Commanders |
Cam Ward (Rookie): Week 12, 2025 | 28/42 for 256, 1 TD, 0 INT, sacked 4 times | Seahawks 30-24 over Titans |
Max Brosmer (Rookie): Week 13, 2025 | 19/30 for 126, 0 TD, 4 INT, sacked 4 times | Seahawks 26-0 over Vikings |
In those six games, the six quarterbacks have averaged just 168.8 yards passing while throwing nine interceptions compared to just two touchdowns. Five of the six quarterbacks threw at least one interception. Also, the Seahawks held their opponent to an average of just 12.3 points in these six games.
Out of the young quarterbacks, Ward had one of the best games, but it should be pointed out that the Seahawks were leading the Titans' 30-10 in the second half. Ward threw for 256 yards, but 92 of those came in the fourth quarter and his only touchdown pass came with 40 seconds left and that accounted for the final score of 30-24.
The biggest issue for Maye might be the sack numbers. Every quarterback was sacked at least twice and the six guys took a total of 23 sacks, led by Caleb Williams, who was sacked seven times. Seattle's defense seems to get after the young quarterbacks so well for two big reasons: Part of it is the Seahawks' pass-rush and part of it is the fact that Macdonald is so good at confusing young quarterbacks that they sometimes hold on to the ball longer than they should, which leads to sacks.
The problem for the Patriots is that Maye was the fourth-most sacked quarterback during the regular season and things have actually gotten even worse in the playoffs. The Patriots quarterback has been sacked a total of 15 times in three playoff games, which is the second-most sacks that any QB has ever taken in a single postseason in NFL history.
In Maye's career, the Patriots have gone just 7-7 in games when he's been sacked at least four times compared to 13-6 when takes three sacks or less in a game. If the Patriots want to have a chance to win, they're going to have to protect Maye. This game certainly feels like it's going to turn into a chess match between Macdonald and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has seen almost everything that an NFL defense might throw at him in his long coaching career.
With McDaniels calling the plays, Maye was so good during the 2025 season that he ended up being voted the second-team All-Pro quarterback behind Matthew Stafford. Of course, if history is any indication, that might actually be a bad thing because he'll be facing a Seahawks defense that gave up the fewest points in the NFL. This will mark the seventh time in Super Bowl history that an All-Pro QB has faced the a defense in the Super Bowl that gave up the fewest points in the regular season. In the previous six instances, the quarterback has gone 1-5 with Joe Montana picking up the only win in Super Bowl XXIV.
The bottom line here is that Maye is going to have his hands full against the Seahawks. In his two years as Seattle's coach, Macdonald has turned into Mike Macdominant when facing young quarterbacks and if that happens again on Super Bowl Sunday, then the Seahawks will likely end up walking away with their second Lombardi Trophy.
