FOXBORO, Mass. — Count Kendrick Bourne among those who loved what he saw from New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye stepped in for veteran Jacoby Brissett and led a struggling Patriots offense to its most complete performance of the season. The 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans wasn’t perfect, but New England’s pass game rivaled that of a professional product, recording season-highs in passing yards and passing yards per attempt.
What impressed Bourne most, though, wasn’t Maye’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte or his 35-yard touchdown throw to DeMario Douglas. Instead, it was Maye’s ability to shake off a few big hits as he was sacked three times against Houston’s tough pass rush.
“What I really loved was even after getting hit, he didn’t seem rattled,” Bourne told NESN.com in the locker room. “It was almost like woke him up. He was already awake, but like, it’s just like anybody when you’re kind of nervous, when you first get out there then when you get that first hit, make first contact with somebody, the butterflies go away.
“I think he responded good. We got to protect him better, for sure. But that’s what I thought was most impressive.”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo credited Maye’s ability to shake off some hits, too. Maye was pressured nine times in the game, an improvement for the Patriots. New England lost starting left tackle Vederian Lowe in the second quarter and starting center Ben Brown wasn’t with the team prior to Thursday.
Maye finished with three touchdowns to go along with three interceptions. Arguably his most impressive touchdown was the 40-yard drop in the bucket throw to Boutte at the end of the first half. It cut New England’s deficit to 14-7 at the break.
“It kind of lit a fire up in him,” Bourne said. “I think it’s just a positive play, and even to go and score at the half, it’s huge. We’re in the game. Coming out of half, we got to be better, but that play was just huge for everybody’s growth and feel of it.”
Bourne, who played his second game since returning from the physically unable to perform list, caught both balls thrown his way for nine yards.
