It was a very rough performance for Drake Maye in the New England Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Sunday night. But the second-year quarterback and NFL MVP runner-up appeared to finally be getting into a rhythm and figuring things out in the fourth quarter, as NBC announcers Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth noted on the broadcast.
That progress was short-lived, and a brutal interception from Maye to follow the positive commentary made for hilarious television (except for Patriots fans).
“And Cris, all of a sudden, there’s a rhythm to the New England offense,” Tirico said. “You almost see a little confidence building.”
“Well, he’s reading the defense now,” Collinsworth said of Maye. “He’s seeing the blitz off the right side. He knows he’s hot. He’s got to throw it to the other way. These are a couple of the best plays that he’s had so far in this game.”
Seconds later, Maye proceeded to throw a dreadful interception, with Seahawks safety Julian Love coming away with the gift.
Collinsworth didn’t know how to respond to that interception, right after he had just talked about Maye starting to play better in the game.
15 seconds of silence followed the play from the NBC booth, before Collinsworth said, “Ummmm, I’ve got nothing for you here.”
Collinsworth followed his comment with a laugh, and while still clearly confused, tried to explain what happened as NBC showed a replay.
“He’s going to drop back, and you’re going to have a crossing route in, eventually,” Collinsworth said. “But there’s just no way that ball was going to be completed.”
You could also chalk that up as the second notable announcer jinx to come from NBC in the game, but this one was a team effort from Tirico and Collinsworth.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.