The 26-20 win over the Bengals should have been a glorious night for the Patriots. But everything changed the instant rookie LT Will Campbell collapsed after a horrific collision early in the third quarter. While the locker room erupted in cheers for the ninth straight victory, the fear of injury hung over the entire team, turning joy into something that stuck in the throat. The video of that moment spread like wildfire and left Patriots fans stunned.
Campbell’s injury happened when he executed a pull block on the left side before a Bengals defender fell directly onto his leg. Campbell lay motionless, teammates draped towels over him, and he was carted off in shock from the entire sideline. The Patriots knew losing Campbell meant losing a vital piece of the offensive line. Maye faced massive pressure the entire fourth quarter without his closest “steel shield.”
When the game ended, the team rushed into the locker room to celebrate the nail-biting win, but Drake Maye did not. He quietly changed, skipped the celebration, and immediately left the room. Cameras captured Maye sprinting down the hallway straight to the medical room where Campbell lay in pain. No noise, no confetti, just a silent moment overflowing with feeling between two rookies carrying the franchise’s future together.
Here’s the Will Campbell injury.
Not good.
— Savage (@SavageSports_) November 23, 2025
When asked why he left the celebration, Maye answered simply but with words that choked up all of Patriots Nation: “Will is my best friend, and seeing him go down like that really messed me up. I was worried about him the entire fourth quarter and couldn’t fully focus. Winning is still important, but in that moment I just needed to go check if my friend was okay.” A plainspoken sentence that hit every fan straight in the heart.
The moment Maye appeared at Campbell’s bedside was clipped and shared at lightning speed, with fans calling it “the most beautiful friendship of the season.” Amid a victory overshadowed by injuries, Maye’s actions became the rare bright spot proving the Patriots don’t just win with talent, but with genuine brotherhood in that locker room. A new symbol has emerged in Foxborough, and it comes not only from throwing the football, but from the heart of Drake Maye.
