💥 BREAKING NEWS: A determined Patriots star vows to move forward after the Bills loss, setting the tone for a crucial late-season push ⚡. DH

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, it may be time for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to channel his inner ‘Rocky Balboa.”

In the 2006 film of the same name, the titular character (famously brought to life by Sylvester Stallone) is seen imparting a valuable life lesson to his weary son, Robert.

“It ain’t about how hard you hit,” Balboa said. “It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward…how much you can take, and keep moving forward…That’s how winning is done!” 

For Maye, the bitter taste of the Pats’ 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium in Week 15 will not be easy to eradicate.

After all, New England’s second-year starter was off to a red-hot start — delivering a pair of first-quarter rushing touchdowns, while seemingly putting his team on cruise control with time winding down in the second quarter.

Unfortunately, Maye and his teammates were about to watch a 21-0 first-half lead erode due to the onslaught five consecutive scoring drives by the Bills. In addition to a notably deficient effort from New England’s defense, the typically cool-and-collected quarterback struggled with his accuracy and decision-making.

Ultimately, Maye completed 14-of-23 passes for 155 yards, two rushing touchdowns and one interception. Though he was far from satisfied with his performance, Maye appears determined to learn from life’s hits to “keep moving forward.”

“Just don’t let it beat you twice,” Maye said from his postgame podium. “Move on to the next week and learn from it and take what we can. And know that we’ve got some football ahead of us that’s important, still very important … Keep your head up and know that we had a chance and we’re there, just they made more plays and credit to them.”

For Drake Maye, the Best has Likely Yet to Come

Heading into Week 15, Maye continued to solidify his place as the new face of the storied franchise. Through the Pats first 13 games, the 23-year-old has completed 71.5 percent of his passes for 3,412 yards with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions — most of which was done amid a deafening chorus of “MVP” chants ringing throughout the chilly southern New England air surrounding Gillette Stadium.

In fact, Maye’s meteoric rise to the top of the NFL quarterback ranks has been one of the main reasons why New England was in position to clinch the AFC East division title with a win over Buffalo in Week 15.

Instead, the Patriots loss ensures that both they and the Bills remain in contention for the AFC East division title for at least one more week. It also ends the team’s 10-game winning streak, a feat for which Maye and the Pats were significantly proud. Faced with their first true patch of adversity, New England will look to its young captain for inspiration and leadership heading into the playoffs.

Thankfully for Patriots Nation, Maye’s apparent knowledge of “how winning is done” would make even Balboa himself quite proud.

It’s huge for me to get the guys going … get back to practicing, letting them know that this is what it’s about, bouncing back and responding,” Maye said. “And we have a lot of football ahead of us, and we’ve got to appreciate that and don’t take that for granted and learn from it.

“[The winning streak] was a long stretch where we were feeling good about ourselves,” he added. ”But this is a chance for us to respond from something, respond from it being late in the season and playing meaningful football and responding from losing to a good team. We’ve got to get back … And looking forward to getting another chance next week.”