Drake Maye provides silver lining in Patriots fifth straight loss
By Max Weisman
The New England Patriots are 1-5 for the second straight season for the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons, but hope seems to be on the horizon. On Tuesday, Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo announced that rookie quarterback Drake Maye would be making his first NFL start Sunday and he gave Patriots fans things to cheer about despite their 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans.
Maye started slow, throwing an interception on his third pass of the game and missing receivers on the Patriots' first few drives. Once he settled in, though, Maye looked like the quarterback of the future in New England. He finished 20-for-33 with 243 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble. The last Patriots quarterback who finished with 240+ passing yards and three touchdowns in a game was Bailey Zappe in Week 14 a season ago.
Down 14-0 with time ticking in the first half, Maye drove the Patriots down the field and connected with wide receiver Kayshon Boutte for a 40-yard touchdown. Maye had 69 passing yards on the scoring drive which took only 48 seconds.
Here we go... Drake Maye with a perfect deep ball to Kayshon Boutte for a 40-yard TD, the first of Maye's career.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 13, 2024
A glimpse into why he was the No. 3 pick: pic.twitter.com/TIftdls1oH
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While there were some bright spots for Maye, he still looked like a rookie quarterback, turning the ball over three times. On the Patriots' first drive of the second half Maye was sacked and fumbled the ball, leading to a Houston touchdown. He threw a second interception that was tipped by defensive end Will Anderson before being caught by safety Eric Murray.
Maye did have a lot of positive moments, though. He threw three touchdowns and used his legs to convert third and fourth downs against a good Texans defense that pressured Maye on most plays and sacked him four times. For the moment, the future looks as bright as it possibly could for a 1-5 team starting a rookie quarterback.
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