FOXBOROUGH – Maye Day arrived.
Patriots rookie first round pick Drake Maye, the backup to Jacoby Brissett for the first five weeks of the season, made his highly anticipated NFL debut as a starter.
The decision to sit Brissett and go with Maye stemmed largely from the Patriots being 1-4, having an anemic offense, and a disenchanted fan base. The first two home games at Gillette Stadium saw a sea of empty seats.
Last week’s loss to Miami also featured hoots aimed toward the offense. With that as a backdrop, Jerod Mayo made the move.
“We say it all the time that it’s all about competition, every single position. I would say, as a coach – and I know the organization feels this way – we’re trying to win every game,” Mayo said Wednesday. “At the time (early on), we thought that Jacoby would give us the best opportunity to go out there and win games, protecting the football, really running the offense …
“Going forward, I think now, Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward.”
The Patriots didn’t win, losing 41-21 to the Texans, but there were plenty of instances where Maye showed why he gives the Patriots a better chance, and why he was taken with the third overall pick.
What did his debut look like?
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Maye: One of the reasons Mayo switched to his rookie quarterback was Maye’s big play capabilities. Between his arms, and his legs, Maye was the more dynamic player.
The Patriots were willing to put up with mistakes in exchange for more explosive offensive plays.
In Maye’s first start, they got both.
He threw three touchdown passes. He had completions of 40, 35, and 30, with two of those going for scores.
By the end, Maye had thrown for more yards in a single game (243) than Brissett (160). He also threw more touchdown passes (3) in one game than Brissett had on the year (2), and posted more points in a single game (21). But he also committed more turnovers than Brissett had in the first five games.
He finished the game throwing two interceptions, and losing the ball on a sack fumble. Basically, there was some good, some bad, and some hope sprinkled in.
At the very least, the Maye-led Patriots were more entertaining.
But, there were also some familiar issues. Those didn’t disappear with the QB switch.
For much of the first half, and change, the Patriots offense looked a lot like it had the first five games with Brissett under center.
There were few, if any third down conversions. It was basically more of the same. More poor blocking, more killer penalties and more sacks. It was just as much of a mess with Maye at quarterback.
Midway through the third quarter, the Patriots already had three turnovers via interception, sack fumble, and fumble.
Two of those turnovers led to points for the Texans.
Maye’s best highlight?
That came the final drive before the half.
At that point, Maye had settled in, and starting connecting with his receivers. With 11 seconds on the clock, facing a second-and-three from the Texans 40, Maye took the shotgun snap, surveilled the field, and unloaded a 40-yard bomb down the right side line.
The ball dropped perfectly into Kayshon Boutte’s hands for a touchdown. Boutte got a step on Derek Stingley Jr., put his hands out, and that marked the first TD pass of Maye’s career.
It also drew the Patriots to within a touchdown. The Texans had jumped out to a 14-0 lead, dominated play, but the Patriots cut that lead in half.
Prior to that, Maye had his struggles early. He finished the half completing eight of 14 passes for 105 yards. He was sacked one, threw an interception, and registered a nice tackle following the pick. The biggest problem was going 1-for-6 on third down in the half.
The numbers did improve in the second half. Maye had a nice 30-yard-completion to Hunter Henry, throwing on the move across his body. That play led to the Patriots second score, a six-yard TD pass to Henry. He also threw a 35-yard TD pass to Pop Douglas, hitting him in stride on a crosser.
But then more errors. Between an Austin Hooper fumble, and Maye’s second pick, the Patriots were cooked.
On the day, Maye finished with more passing yards than Houston’s C.J. Stroud (192). But with so many errors, and a defense that bent, and broke, there was little to no chance.
Maye completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards. He had three TD passes, two picks, and was sacked four times. He also rushed for 38 yards on five carries.
Maye was without lead back Rhamondre Stevenson, who was ruled out Friday with a foot injury. That didn’t help.
The Patriots also started their sixth different offensive line in as many games. Most notably, there was a new center. Nick Leverett, who had taken over the starter duties at center after David Andrews was lost for the year, took a seat in favor of Ben Brown. He was signed off waivers from Las Vegas Raiders practice squad on Wednesday, and practiced two days.
Before the end of the half, starting left tackle Vederian Lowe left with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
Even with a poor line and no Stevenson, Maye still provided a spark.
