Patriots' Drake Maye called his own number to seal Super Bowl spot, teammate reveals

The "NFL on FOX" crew react and break down the New England Patriots 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye put the game on his shoulders on the team’s final drive of the AFC Championship against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

The Patriots needed to convert on third down to essentially end the game and secure their first Super Bowl appearance since Tom Brady was throwing passes and Bill Belichick was roaming the sideline. If the team got stopped, they would have had to punt the ball back to the Broncos and rely on the defense to stop Jarrett Stidham one more time.

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New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) rushes the ball against Denver Broncos safety Devon Key (26) during the first half in the 2026 AFC Championship Game at Empower Field at Mile High on Jan. 25, 2026. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)

On 3rd-and-5, Maye took the snap and faked the handoff. He rolled back toward his left where he only had one guy to beat. Maye was able to just get around Broncos' linebacker Jonah Elliss to get the first down and seal the game.

While it seemed like a simple play-action call that Maye just executed on, Patriots offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury shared that no one had any idea it was coming. He told the Boston Herald that Maye didn’t share what he was going to do.

"I hit my block, and all the defenders started running the other way," Bradbury said. "I’m like, ‘What? Oh my God.' ... After the game, Drake’s like, ‘I debated telling you guys if I was gonna (keep) it or not. But I just decided not to.’"

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) prepares to hand the ball off against the Denver Broncos during the