Why Patriots’ Drake Maye Believes He Can Start When Called Upon

Drake Maye made his NFL debut in garbage time of the 24-3 beating the New England Patriots took Thursday night at the hands of the New York Jets.

Maye completed 4-of-8 passes for 22 yards in his brief introduction to real NFL snaps. While his entrance should not signal a change at the starting position, Maye reaffirmed that he’ll be ready to roll whenever the Patriots call upon him.

“Yeah, I think that’s what I’m doing week in and week out,” Maye told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “When my number is called, I’m gonna go out there and try to make some plays. I’ve been preparing like I’m the starter. At the same time, be there for Jacoby. He battled tonight.”

Maye entered after Jacoby Brissett took five sacks and struggled to force any sort of production on the offensive side for the Patriots. New England needs to find some semblance of an offense, though that’s way easier said than done behind a disastrous offensive line.

Whether it’s Brissett (highly likely) or Maye under center next week, the Patriots have another massive challenge on the schedule coming up in Week 4 when they visit the San Francisco 49ers.