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 ticks off the clock. Van Pelt then called a shotgun snap for Maye, who completed a 22-yard pass to DeMario Douglas.

The Patriots turned first-and-10 from their 16-yard line into a 40-yard touchdown pass from Maye to Kayshon Boutte. The pass, which had a 26.7% completion probability, per Next Gen Stats, capped 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.

It was merely a snapshot of Maye’s first start, which was not perfect by any means. Maye (20-for-33, 243 yards) threw three touchdowns but had three turnovers. 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. Houston scored two plays later and took a 21-7 lead after the turnover set them up at New England’s 10-yard line.

Maye sailed his third pass of the game, a throw that was intended for Polk but 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. He struggled with inaccuracies at times.

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 later 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. The Patriots looked like a much more competitive offense with the rookie behind center.

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 three 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.

And there was the fact Maye played from behind throughout. He first stepped onto the field after the defense allowed a touchdown romp on Houston’s first possession.

Maye will have to be better. The Patriots will have to be better around him. But there were at least a few glimpses.