CHICAGO – Drake Maye was already upset. It bothered the quarterback that the Patriots failed to gain 1 yard two plays in a row during a series before halftime in the team’s loss to Tennessee.
In the NFL, little mistakes add up throughout a game. For the Patriots, making mistakes has been a staple of this 2024 team. That’ll happen when you’re rebuilding and playing young players. Maye, however, didn’t like how his teammates responded in the first practice of the week.
Last Wednesday, the rookie fumbled a snap and saw the offensive line fail to block the correct players on the Patriots practice squad. Maye knows the margin of error is too thin for his team to play sloppy football. That’s why he asked offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt if he could address the team.
Maye stood up and spoke to his teammates, trying to deliver a clear message about how important practice was.
“Last week, I mentioned, we had second and third down in the 2-minute drill and we ran it and couldn’t pick up 1 yard. Little things like that – little details and focus,” Maye said. “I think sometimes we get into practice mode where we’re just running plays… get into a groove of ‘hey, we’re just running plays out here for nothing.’ Really just tried to challenge those guys and challenge myself to take each play and know that when the game comes and this play is called, it matters. There are so many times you can see how much that play can impact the turnover out of the game. I was trying to get through to them.”
That message resonated on Sunday in Chicago. After Maye threw a poor pass, which resulted in an interception, the rookie quarterback and his teammates battled back. It wasn’t perfect, but the young players on this team showed promise and improvement throughout the Patriots 19-3 upset win over the Bears.
It started with Maye’s message and ended with a Patriots win. Sunday was a sign that the Patriots rebuild is in a positive place and starting to work.
- BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
Players follow Maye’s lead
Patriots players understood what Maye meant. During Wednesday’s practice, the first session of the week, the urgency wasn’t there and mistakes started to pile up.
This season, the 3-7 Patriots have had plenty of miscues. For them, the challenge has been learning from them, fixing their mistakes, and not repeating them. For younger players in the NFL, that’s not always easy. But when Maye spoke up, players listened.
“Everybody loved it. We need that. We need that from our starting quarterback,’ Ja’Lynn Polk said. “Everybody loved it. Everybody wants to be held to a certain standard on this team. That tells you a lot about the guys that we have in the room.”
“It was him taking the lead and letting us know exactly what the coaches are saying, but just from a player’s perspective of ‘we have to get back on track,’” added Vederian Lowe. “We wanted to have a great week of practice to give us a chance to win. If was just him addressing the room and taking that step forward and making sure we get back on track for this weekend.”
For Maye, dealing with adversity is easy. That started when he was a boy trying to keep up with his three older brothers. After the Patriots win, he recalled the times his siblings would dunk on him in their house on a miniature basketball hoop.
This season, when the Patriots have struggled, players have struggled to turn things around during the game. For example, in London, after taking a 10-0 lead, veterans felt like younger players started to lose focus. As the Jaguars came back, Kendrick Bourne remembers seeing an attitude of, “Here we go, again” from his teammates.
As this season has unfolded, the Patriots have gained confidence thanks to their rookie quarterback. On Sunday, after Maye threw an interception at the end of the first quarter, it was a big deal that the offense scored 10 points in their last two drives of the half. Right there proved that this group could bounce back.
Part of that reason is Maye. When the Patriots faltered against the Bears, their quarterback rallied his troops.
“I know when we’re in the huddle, he’s always constantly motivating us. ‘Everything is going to be good. Let’s go out and execute our plays,’” said receiver Kayshon Boutte. “It’s good to have a guy like that letting everybody know that everything is good as long as we take care of what we need to.”
“He doesn’t act like he’s a 22-year-old rookie at all. He’s special out there, man. Everyone can see it. The team sees it,” added center Ben Brown. “He’s a great quarterback and he’s a great leader out there, too. He kind of has that magic to him when he’s out there. He can keep extending plays and make things happen.”
Young Patriots stepped up
To win in the NFL, the Patriots need more than just Maye to play well. With a series of injuries to important players on both sides of the ball, this team needs their young players to grow, learn and develop.
As Sunday’s game wore on, it was eye-opening just how many young players stepped up and made an impact for the Patriots.
On offense, the only player to score a touchdown was Polk. The second-round pick started Sunday after dealing with adversity from dropped passes, penalties, and a concussion. Boutte, who’s 22, caught a career-high four passes to go with 47 yards. That included a 23-yard reception with time expiring to set up a field goal before halftime. Their offensive line, which has no one older than 26, allowed one sack.
“I feel like we’re growing a lot,” Boutte said. “The more we’re out there, the more we’re going to grow. As long as we keep doing it on a week-to-week basis, it’ll all come together real soon.”
“Everyone is trying to mesh together and build some kind of continuity. We have a bunch of young players,” Lowe said. “We’re all trying to find our own way in our own game as well as playing together as a team. That’s a really big thing for us. Everyone working, dedicating ourselves to the game is what’s going to help us do that.”
The Patriots also saw that on defense. At linebacker, rookie Curtis Jacobs started his first game. Undrafted rookie Dell Pettus had two huge plays in back-to-back drives when he deflected a Caleb Williams pass on third down and then sacked the quarterback on third down the next series. Second-year edge rusher Keion White had a sack, two quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss.
This Patriots rebuild is in the infancy stages. There’s a reason why they’re 3-7. There’s also a method to this madness. By focusing on young players this year, the Patriots hope they are building a solid foundation for the future.
At this point, it seems obvious that Maye is about to become the face of the franchise. The Patriots need to build their team around this talented quarterback, who’s already showing advanced signs of leadership for someone who’s the youngest player on the roster at 22.
This season, the Patriots are trying to find out which young players will be around in the future. At times, that leads to some ugly losses. But when things start to click, like they did in Sunday’s win, it shows signs of a better future in New England.
“It’s the process. It’s the journey. We’re going through it. And as we’re going through it, we’re going through it together,” Polk said. “It’s going to get better. We just have to continue to stack days, stay with each other, stay by each other’s side and we’re going to be good.”
