Drake Maye Watch: How Patriots Rookie Performed In First Start

FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was criticized for how he handled end-of-half situations against the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins in Weeks 2 and 5, respectively. Van Pelt explained the balance of being aggressive and smart in those situations, both of which were considered mistakes by the Jacoby Brissett-led offense.

Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye and the offense faced a similar situation during their 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Van Pelt opted to run the ball on first-and-10 from New England’s 16-yard line, running 25 seconds off the clock. Van Pelt then called a shotgun snap for Maye, who jumpstarted the possession with a 22-yard completion to DeMario Douglas.

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The Patriots turned first-and-10 from their 16-yard line into a five-play, 84-yard drive that took 48 seconds. The two-minute drill saw Maye dice up Houston’s man-to-man coverage as he completed three of four passes with the only incompletion being a drop by Ja’Lynn Polk. It was not only an efficient drive but a possession that portrayed the difference between Maye and Brissett. It made Van Pelt look a bit better in the process, too.

Maye (20-for-33, 243 yards, three touchdowns, three turnovers) showed glimpses in his first career start. He led a competent passing attack, an offense that rivaled professionalism for the first time in six weeks. His three touchdowns against the Texans were more than Brissett threw in five games. And Maye’s athleticism also was on display with some chain-moving gains (five carries, team-high 38 yards) when he escaped the pocket.

Again, it wasn’t perfect. He airmailed the 5-foot-8 Douglas on an interception, the first of his career. The rookie also hung onto the ball a bit too long and it ended in a strip sack by Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter. His third pass of the game, a throw that was intended for Polk, landed closer to the Gatorade cooler behind New England’s bench. He missed tight end Austin Hooper on a third-and-12 attempt which almost certainly would have gone for a first down if the two were on the same page.

Maye also led three scoring drives. Following his two-minute drill, New England capped a seven-play, 70-yard possession with Maye’s touchdown to Hunter Henry. He followed it up with a 35-yard touchdown to Douglas, which capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive. Those kinds of possessions were not seen in the Patriots’ first five games.

Things weren’t perfect around Maye, either. Left tackle Vederian Lowe was injured three minutes into the second quarter and did not return. Ben Brown, who was with the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad last week, was the one snapping to Maye. New England allowed nine pressures and four sacks on Maye, as well. He faced third-and-8 or longer on 75% of New England’s third-down attempts in the first half.

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Maye will have to be better. The Patriots will have to be better around him. But there certainly were at least a few glimpses Patriots fans will be able to hold on to moving forward.