The New England Patriots took their first true look at the future on Sunday when rookie quarterback Drake Maye made his first NFL start.
The North Carolina product directed the New England offense against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The game presented a mixed bag for Maye, tossing three touchdown passes and turning the ball over three times in a 41-21 loss, the fifth consecutive defeat for the Patriots.
The results didn’t lead to the win and the Patriots clearly have a long way to go in this rebuild, but Maye showed as much quarterback optimism in New England in multiple years.
Maye finished the day for the Patriots going 20-for-33 through the air for 243 with three passing touchdowns with a pair of interceptions in a fumble lost. There’s plenty to improve on, mostly regarding ball security, but Maye showed promise, which should please the Patriots for the time being.
Let’s grade the rookie quarterback in his first starting performance of his career for the Patriots.
POSITIVES
Downfield passing
Quarterbacks in the post-Tom Brady era simply never found consistency pushing the ball down the field with a vertical passing attack. It didn’t exist. Cam Newton and Mac Jones had a handful in their tenures, but New England heavily struggled to create chunk plays over the last four years.
Maye’s first touchdown pass was a perfect ball down the sideline that led Kayshon Boutte to beat tight coverage. The Patriots don’t see those throws very often anymore, instantly presenting the spark New England hoped for when making the change at quarterback entering Week 6.
The quarterback later found capable receiver Demario Douglas for a 35-yard touchdown on a catch and run after Maye fired the pass with pressure in the pocket.
Mobility
Jones did not have any escapability during his tenure in New England, which further limited his ability to spark the offense in his steep decline after a promising rookie season in 2021.
Maye stood out as a playmaker in college and extended plays on multiple occasions on Sunday for the Patriots. He kept himself alive to get throws off and also had five carries for 38 yards.
By the way, Maye was New England’s leading rusher in the game with Rhamondre Stevenson out with a foot injury.
Involvement
The Patriots don’t exactly offer an electrifying group of skill players for Maye to turn to in efforts to make plays. The rookie still found a way to spread the ball around on Sunday, hitting eight different receivers for New England. Douglas led the way with six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
NEGATIVES
Turnovers
Maye threw a pair of interceptions in the loss. The first one absolutely falls on him, airmailing a pass on an open crossing route to Douglas that hit Houston defensive back Calen Bullock in stride.
The second interception was tipped near the line of scrimmage with Maye looking for Antonio Gibson, falling into the arms of Houston defender Eric Murray. Maye tallied a third turnover on a strip sack. Those three turnovers (New England had four on the day) led to 10 points for the Texans, widening the already existing gaps between the teams in Foxboro on Sunday.
There’s no doubt that sparked the biggest concern for the Patriots in Maye’s debut.
Awareness
Maye lost the ball on a strip sack when Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter beat the New England pass block to get to the quarterback. Hunter came right at Maye within the quarterback’s lane of vision, not the blind side.
Awareness wasn’t a massive negative and the Patriots have an abysmal line as a whole, but Maye could not prevent disaster on a play that set up another Texans score.
OVERALL GRADE: B-
This grade probably should be a C+ for the turnovers. With that said, Maye showed every reason why the Patriots drafted him and should believe he is the quarterback to build around for years to come.
Growing pains will come, and perfection can’t be expected from the rookie, especially with a complete lack of help around the roster. If he takes care of the ball, Maye’s encouraging outing looks even better. That’s the ultimate key for him in the short term to lead improvement for the Patriots.
The Patriots face a fellow struggling team on international grounds in Week 7 in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
