By Matt Geagan
Updated on: February 3, 2025 / 9:22 AM EST / CBS Boston
FOXBORO — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye wrapped up his weekend as a Pro Bowler in Orlando, Florida with a pair of touchdown passes for the AFC in the NFL’s flag football game. But his turnover issue also showed up in the exhibition, as Maye threw a pair of passes to NFC defenders.
Maye got the honor of being a Pro Bowl rookie last week when he replaced Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson on the AFC roster. After a slightly disappointing showing in the Skills Challenge on Thursday, Maye got to throw the pigskin to some of the NFL’s best receivers in Sunday’s flag football game.
Drake Maye throws two touchdowns during Pro Bowl Flag Football game
It was another up-and-down Sunday for Maye, which was common throughout his rookie season for New England. He started the second half for the AFC, and took the field with his team trailing 42-25.
We’ll start with the good from the 22-year-old rookie, who dropped a beautiful dime to Cincinnati Bengals wideout Ja’Marr Chase in the corner of the end zone for his first Pro Bowl touchdown pass.
First Pro Bowl, first TD 🏈@DrakeMaye2 | #NEPats
📺: #ProBowlGames on ESPN pic.twitter.com/ENjIlOlVH0
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 2, 2025
It left all of New England dreaming of the Patriots getting Maye a true No. 1 receiver for the 2025 season.
Later in the game, Maye connected with fellow rookie Brian Thomas Jr. for a touchdown, hitting the Jacksonville Jaguars receiver over the middle of the field.
While those two touchdowns were both solid throws by Maye, his interception issue also popped up during the exhibition. On a fourth down on his first drive, Maye felt “pressure” from a Dallas’ KaVontae Turpin and forced a ball underneath to Chase. The pass didn’t find Chase though, and ended up as a 25-yard pick-six by Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker.
Budda house call! 🚨
📺: #ProBowlGames on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/sBAkleZ1wj— NFL (@NFL) February 2, 2025
It was definitely a throw Maye would have liked back. His day concluded with another one of those, as he threw another pick-six to Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy on a bad underthrow early in the fourth quarter.
Byron Murphy jumps the route for a Pick-6 🔒
📺: #ProBowlGames on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/hX5Zu4UxbS— NFL (@NFL) February 2, 2025
That was it for Maye, as AFC head coach Peyton Manning replaced him with Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson the rest of the way. The NFC went on to win the game, 76-63.
While his Sunday began and ended with Maye throwing interceptions, his two touchdown passes in between were pretty impressive. Overall, it was a nice experience for Maye, who will now turn his attention toward his second NFL season.
Matt GeaganMatthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.
