Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Took Issue With No-Call On Drake Maye Interception

This turnover killed a scoring chance

The New England Patriots turned the ball over three times in a competitive 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 16.

The second turnover of the evening came when Patriots quarterback Drake Maye targeted tight end Austin Hooper in the corner of the end zone. Hooper instead got tripped up through some traffic, Maye left the ball short, and Buffalo cornerback Cam Lewis slid in for the interception and a touchback.

With time to watch the play over and assess the contact, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo did not deny the poor play execution but admitted his frustration that the officiating crew kept the flag in their pockets.

“Then on the interception, I was a little bit confused,” Mayo told reporters Monday, per team-provided video. “Look, it was a bad throw. But at the same time, you have a receiver in the end zone getting de-cleated as the ball’s in the air, and nothing happened. But look, we’ve got to clean up. We’ve got to clean it up, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Maye otherwise threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns, though he fired an interception for the seventh-consecutive game for the longest active streak in the NFL.

The Patriots look to end the season on a positive note when they start a two-game homestand Saturday on a short week at Gillette Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers.