Patriots ponder over Super Bowl that slipped away

Maye was the NFL's most accurate passer during the regular season and finished second in MVP voting, but he was hounded by the Seahawks' "Dark Side" defence throughout. He threw two touchdown passes, but was sacked six times, had two interceptions and lost a fumble that led to a TD by Seattle in the Patriots' 29-13 loss on Sunday.

"Definitely hurts," Maye said.

"They played better than us tonight."

It was a humbling end for a team that seemed poised to recapture a little of the magic of the Pats' run of six championships over two decades. Instead, Maye sat after the game with his head down, in grass-stained pants and tears welling in his eyes.

"Family travel all this way to watch us play. Don't ruin their night. Because it sucks and it hurts," Maye said.

Maye finished 27 of 43 for 295 yards and there were few highlights before he and the Patriots finally found some traction in the third quarter. Left tackle Will Campbell gave up two of the sacks on Maye as the Seahawks sent several blitzes to his side of the line.

"We can sit here and try to put in on one guy. You'll be disappointed because that will never happen," New England coach Mike Vrabel said.

"It starts with us as a coaching staff ... That's never going to change."

Trailing 19-0 after his fumble set up a touchdown pass by Sam Darnold, Maye finally got some time to operate in the pocket and threw a 35-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins.

It brought some life to the Patriots' sideline.

But it was short-lived.

Maye's pass intended for Kyle Williams was picked off by Julian Love. The Seahawks added Jason Myers' fifth field goal on their ensuing drive.

Down 22-7, New England's fate was basically sealed when Maye was picked off by Uchenna Nwosu, who returned it 45 yards for a score.

The Patriots, who came in averaging 18 points per game in the playoffs, were held to 331 total yards.

New England were denied a seventh Lombardi Trophy, which would have broken a tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in NFL history. It was a thudding end to a Cinderella-like season for the Patriots, who finished the regular season 14-3 in Vrabel's first season — which came off back-to-back 4-13 finishes.

"Just like every year, somebody's gonna lose this game, and we have to remember what it feels like, Vrabel said."

The 51 total yards gained by the Patriots were the fewest in a first half in the last 35 Super Bowls.

It also marked the fifth Super Bowl without a touchdown in the first half. Maye also became first player to be sacked three times on the first four drives of a Super Bowl since Tom Brady in Super Bowl 42 against the New York Giants.

Australian Associated Press