NFL fans fume as refs miss penalty for Drake Maye's possible concussion: "If that’s Patrick Mahomes it’s a different story"

On Saturday, the New England Patriots hosted the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium, hoping to end their five-game losing streak and hurt the visitors' chances of earning a playoff berth.

Their chances of winning hinged heavily on quarterback Drake Maye having an excellent game against a stellar defense. However, he was almost knocked out of the game early in the first half.

On a third-and-4 play, the rookie tried to scramble to get four yards and move the chains. However, cornerback Cam Hart stopped him short with a brutal hit to the head that caused him to fumble the ball. Fortunately, the ball bounced out of bounds and not into the hands of a Chargers defender.

Despite the defensive back leading with his helmet and knocking the wind out of Maye's sails, he wasn't flagged for it, which left fans on social media frustrated:

Some fans claimed that the referees would have thrown the flag without hesitation had it been another quarterback, like Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes.

"The NFL claims they want to protect players from head injuries, but a clear helmet to helmet hit is somehow not a penalty because Maye was a runner? Yes everyone knows running negates any injury risk from a head hit. Guessing if that’s Mahomes it’s a different story," @angry_blue_dot opined.

"If Mahomes were hit like Drake Maye was - helmet to helmet - there would be a flag and likely an ejection and maybe a brawl. No flag, nothing here," @jasonrmcintyre said.

"I know Maye should've got out of bounds but if that was Mahomes that guy (Cam Hart) would've been in jail for that hit," @rmredfearn3 quipped.

Drake Maye injury update: QB fine after hit to head

After the hit, Drake Maye went into the blue medical tent to get evaluated for a concussion before being taken to the locker room for further tests. He missed one series but returned to the game.

However, he was seemingly still feeling the effects of the hit as he committed a massive blunder on a routine pitch on a jet sweep to wide receiver Demario Douglas and turned the ball over to the Chargers.

He brushed it off and engineered a beautiful drive late in the second quarter, capping it off with an incredible 36-yard touchdown pass to Douglas to get the Patriots on the scoreboard.

However, it was the Patriots' only scoring drive of the game as they lost 40-7 and dropped to 3-13. Drake Maye finished the game with 117 passing yards, one touchdown pass, and 32 rushing yards on six carries. While the team will be glad their quarterback did not suffer a severe injury, they'll want to forget this day as soon as possible.