8 Patriots takeaways from Drake Maye’s first start

• Drake Maye’s debut

  

  FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 13: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots throws a pass in his first NFL start against the Houston Texans during the first half at Gillette Stadium on October 13, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

  Coming into Sunday’s game most people were willing to acknowledge there would be ups and downs in Drake Maye’s first start. That was certainly the case, as Maye went through peaks and valleys against Houston. He finished 20-of-33 for 243 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

  The highs? That has to start with his 40-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte at the end of the first half. Most of the first half of the game saw Maye work to underneath and sometimes intermediate reads. Maybe it was the ticking clock that got him going.

  Late in the first half the Patriots got the ball backed up to their own end zone with a minute to go and two timeouts. It’s a situation the Patriots botched twice already this year, including last week. This sequence started the same way with a first-down run, but Maye was able to complete the 2nd down pass for a 22 yard gain.

  Fast forward a few plays to 16 seconds to go. The Patriots were a few first downs away from field goal range but instead of continuing to slowly progress down the field Maye unleashed a rainbow deep ball that dropped right into Boutte’s hands in a tight window for the touchdown. Maye flashed his arm talent a few more times, hitting throws outside the numbers.

  The other big plus for Maye was what he did with his legs. He was the Patriots’ leading rusher with 38 yards on five carries. Those were all on scrambles, which were timely and effective. The next step will be seeing how Alex Van Pelt taps into Maye’s rushing ability with designed quarterback runs.

  As for the down, accuracy is at the top of the list. Maye sprayed the ball at times, especially in the first half. May often missed high or long, something he also did at the start of training camp before settling down. His comments after the game suggest this may have been a similar issue.

  “I was a little amped at the start for sure. I think the biggest thing is having those guys around me,” he noted postgame. “The guys around me were great trying to settle me down, and Jacoby [Brissett] was a big part of that, slowed me down on the sideline pregame.”

  Multiple such misses came on third down. That included his first interception, which sailed past an open Pop Douglas and into the arms of a waiting defender. While he finished completing 20 of his 33 pass attempts, that number was helped by a few reaching or lunging receptions from his pass catchers.

  “We fully anticipate or expect him to be better going forward. It was his first start,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after the game. “I thought he handled it well. Got to build on it.”

  That’s a pretty fair assessment of Maye’s performance on Sunday. It wasn’t perfect, but for a rookie in his first start perfect is an unreal expectation. Case in point, Maye outperformed every other rookie in their first career start this year.

  This game was more about seeing the flashes and traits to build on, while also getting an idea of what elements of Maye’s game need further development. Both of those were clear on Sunday.

• Drake Maye’s favorite targets

  

  Oct 13, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas (3) runs back a kickoff against the Houston Texans during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

  One of the other things that was key to look for in this game was seeing which receivers Drake Maye does and doesn’t have chemistry with at this point. In terms of those he seemed to prefer throwing to, two clearly stood out.

  The big one was Pop Douglas. That’s a major development as Douglas – the team’s most explosive playmaker – never seemed to get on the same page as Jacoby Brissett.

  Douglas led the team with six catches on nine targets, with 92 yards and a touchdown. After the early miss that led to the interception Maye hit him in stride multiple times, and Douglas was able to create after the catch.

  In total, Douglas played the third most snaps of any Patriots receiver as the team opted for bigger players when in two-receiver sets. Moving forward, the Patriots should try to come up with ways to get him on the field in 12 or 21 personnel, to take advantage of mismatches with the shifty receiver and bigger defensive packages.

  The other player who seemed to really benefit from having Maye in the game was second-year wideout Kayshon Boutte. Boutte was targeted three times, catching all three. That was a career high in catches for the LSU product, as were his 59 receiving yards.

  It wasn’t a volume role but Boutte was there when Maye looked his way, and gave the defense something to worry about over the top. Boutte has steadily put together a solid start to the season, and with Maye throwing him the ball he turned some of that promise into production on Sunday.

  One receiver Maye didn’t seem to be on the same page as? That was fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk. Polk played the second-most snaps of any receiver, and was second among wide receivers with four targets. However he only caught one of those, with two third down drops in this one.

  Before Maye took over, Polk was getting open but the ball wasn’t coming his way. That changed on Sunday, but now he has to capitalize on his targets.

• Surprise change on the offensive line

  

  Oct 13, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) and Houston Texans defensive tackle Khalil Davis (94) pressure New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) as he makes a throw during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

  Make it six weeks with six different offensive lines for the Patriots. In a bit of a surprise move, Ben Brown started at center in place of Nick Leverett, who was dealing with an injury and struggled last week.

  That was a surprise because Brown wasn’t signed by the Patriots until Wednesday night, and didn’t join the team for practice until Thursday. The Patriots had no other centers active and didn’t elevate any from the practice squad, which left Brown as the guy. He told reporters after the game he found out earlier in the day he’d be starting.

  Credit to Brown, who held his own on a short turnaround. Late in the game, he was the only Patriots’ offensive lineman to go without allowing a pressure according to PFF’s in-game charting. It wasn’t perfect, but for somebody with only two practices under his belt it certainly could have gone a lot worse.

  The rest of the offensive line remained the same as last week, and that unit had its issues. Those were particularly clear at tackle, where Demontrey Jacobs was beat clean multiple times – with one of those plays allowing a clean hit on Drake Maye that had the rookie limping.

  At left tackle the Patriots started the game with Vederian Lowe, but he got his ankle rolled up on in the first half and didn’t return. In his place the team turned to waiver claim Zach Thomas, who has played some left tackle in the NFL but has primarily been a guard through his first two-plus NFL seasons. Thomas struggled in the second half, and was at the point of attack when Texans edge rusher Will Anderson was free to deflect a screen pass that turned into Maye’s second interception.

  In addition to Lowe, the team also lost Michael Jordan to injury in this game late. He was replaced by Sidy Sow.

  Those injuries will be key to monitor, as the Patriots are once again very thin at multiple spots on the offensive line. If Lowe misses time, Jacobs would be the only healthy true tackle on the roster, with Caleb Jones and Jalen McKenzie on the practice squad. At guard the team has Sow, Leverett, and Layden Robinson (who was inactive on Sunday) on the active roster. All of the backup centers are on the practice squad in Bryan Hudson, Liam Fornadel (who both can play guard), and Sincere Haynesworth.

  Seeing Maye limping in his first NFL start certainly wasn’t a great sign. The promise he showed on Sunday won’t mean much if he starts getting banged up, which puts all the more pressure on the Patriots to figure the offensive line out quickly.

• Lack of a run game

  

  FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 13: Antonio Gibson #4 of the New England Patriots carries the ball against the Houston Texans during the second half at Gillette Stadium on October 13, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

  The Patriots weren’t able to support Maye with much of a run game in his first start. Take out his five scrambles, and the team ran for 44 yards on 21 carries – or 2.1 yards per rush – between Antonio Gibson, JaMycal Hasty, and practice squad elevation Terrell Jennings.

  Offensive line play was definitely a part of that, but the Patriots missed Rhamondre Stevenson badly in this game. Not even for his ability to rip off a big run, but his ability to turn runs that should go for negative or no gain into positives.

  Stevenson’s ability to run through contact was key in the Patriots’ offense staying on schedule early in the season. Without it, they found themselves in too many 3rd & longs, forcing them to be one-dimensional on key downs.

• Defensive fundamentals fall apart

  

  FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 13: Dameon Pierce #31 of the Houston Texans carries the ball for a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium on October 13, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

  Yes, the Patriots have lost a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball this season. The unit is going to struggle to fill that talent gap throughout the year, but Sunday’s game went beyond that.

  Too many times, the Patriots were unable to make textbook defensive plays. Whether that was missed tackles, failing to set the edge, or passing off coverage assignments, there were lapses throughout the game. There were stretches where it felt like the Texans could get whatever they wanted offensively.

  “Defensively I would say just the fundamentals of just tackling, our run fits have to improve,” Jerod Mayo said after the game. “They have to improve. I told all those guys, I said, ‘you should feel like crap today. You should feel like crap.’ You take away those two long runs, we had two runs over 50 yards. That’s just not winning football.”

  The run fits are one element that will certainly be in the spotlight. Houston ran for 192 yards at 6.9 yards per carry, breaking two rushes of 50-plus yards.

  Once again, many of the Patriots’ defensive issues came at the second level. Sione Takitaki was expected to help in that regard after coming off of PUP this week, but played just nine defensive snaps. It’s possible the team is ramping his usage back up the same way they’re doing with Kendrick Bourne on offense, but based on Sunday they may need to expedite that process.

• Heavyweight matchup on the outside

  

  FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 13: Stefon Diggs #1 of the Houston Texans catches a pass for a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the third quarter of the game at Gillette Stadium on October 13, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)

  One matchup we really highlighted heading into this game was Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez against Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Gonzalez has limited some of the best receivers in football early on in his NFL career, but Diggs is among the best in the league and has a history of dominating against the Patriots – especially at Gillette Stadium.

  In the end Diggs got the win in the matchup, but it wasn’t exactly overwhelming. Initial numbers have Gonzalez covering Diggs on 10 routes, with Diggs catching four passes on five targets for 39 yards and a score.

  While those may not seem like massive numbers, the situations were also a part of what made it feel like Diggs gets the win here. One of those catches came when he pulled away from Gonzalez on a crossing route for a 13-yard gain on 3rd & 5 to set up Houston’s first touchdown. His early third quarter touchdown – which also game one-on-one against Gonzalez, felt like a backbreaker as it erased the momentum the Patriots picked up from their touchdown late in the first half.

  Across all coverages, Diggs caught six passes on seven targets for 77 yards and the score. Of those six catches, five went for first downs. It may not have been with the eye-popping numbers he had against New England when in Buffalo, but Diggs once again proved to be a major thorn in the Patriots’ side on Sunday.

• Defensive bright spot

  

  Oct 13, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai (48) and New England Patriots safety Marte Mapu (15) tackles Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce (31) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

  If there’s one bright spot for the Patriots’ defense right now, it’s Marte Mapu. The hybrid safety/linebacker has played two solid games since returning from IR.

  The first thing that stands out about Mapu right now is his physicality. He’s delivering big hits over the middle while the rest of the defense is struggling to tackle. The hope should be his style becomes a tone-setter for his teammates.

  Mapu also came up with a big play in coverage on Sunday. He carried Texans tight end Dalton Schultz up the field, and made a good coverage play to take away the throwing window from C.J. Stroud without getting called for interference. Mapu ended up deflecting the pass, which was then picked off by Marcus Jones.

• Penalties, again

  

  Oct 13, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Houston Texans defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. (97) grabs New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson (4) by the face mask when making a tackle during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

  For the second week, penalties and the referee crew are in the spotlight after a Patriots game. That’s not good for anybody.

  Coming into this game, Ron Torbert’s crew ranked second in the NFL throwing an average of 21.5 flags per game. They started off nearly on pace to match that mark, throwing 10 flags in the first half. Things slowed down in the second, and there only ended up being 14 flags total (really 15, they picked one up) for the game.

  Of the 13 accepted penalties, nine were against the Patriots. That’s the Patriots’ second-highest penalty total of the year, after their 12 last week.

  “We talk about it all the time. In Saturday night meetings we talk about what crew is going to be out there, what do they call frequently, and we knew that this was a high penalty calling crew,” Jerod Mayo said after the game. “I thought the second half kind of cleaned it up a little bit, but just way too many penalties in the game.”

  It wasn’t just the number of penalties, but the situations as well. The Patriots were penalized twice on would-be defensive third down stops in the first quarter, with both penalties resulting in touchdowns. While they were nit-picky calls, they weren’t totally out of thin air either. Offensively the team had three first down procedural penalties, putting drives behind schedule instantly.

  Even with Drake Maye in at quarterback, the Patriots don’t have the margin for error to be committing penalties like this. They’ll need to work on cleaning that up moving forwards.

  To be fair, there was one clear blown non-call by the officials. Early in the third quarter Antonio Gibson was brought down by his facemask with no other players around, but there was no flag on the play. Would it have changed the game? Probably not, but it added to the frustration of the day.