Drake Maye proves the Patriots' decision to start him right in Week 6 debut

Drake Maye got his first start against the tough and talented Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. His team lost in a blowout, 41-21. Yet, Maye's performance was more than encouraging. He clearly demonstrated that the decision to start him against Houston was the right one.

Maye was not perfect by any means in his debut start. His major miscues, two interceptions, helped put his team behind the eight ball. When you lose the turnover battle, you'll likely come up short. He contributed to the Patriots' fifth loss of the season.

Those are the big negatives, and they're not to be discounted or minimized. You turn the ball over, and most of the time, you'll lose. It's a simple fact in the National Football League. Conversely, you won't win unless you score points, and Maye did just that for the Patriots against Houston. Let's explore the many positives in his performance and comment on why it took so long.

Drake Maye's 3 TD passes surpassed the five previous games' totals

Maye provided an offensive spark to a lackluster 2024 Patriots' offense that, until the Texans game, was similar in its results to the dismal 2023 version. The rookie moved the ball and racked up more yardage in the Houston game than in any previous game this season.

Maye threw for 239 yards, not exactly lofty stats, but still lots better than the previous Pats' season high of 168 yards. That's 42 percent better, a significant improvement. Yet, undoubtedly, his best stat was throwing three touchdown passes in his first NFL start.

To put this in perspective, the team had only two TD passes in the previous five games. Maye shattered that by 50 percent in his first NFL start. That's productive, very promising, and demonstrates his potential. He also ran for 38 yards in five carries. That helps.

It's necessary to remember he's playing behind essentially the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the NFL. It's no excuse, but it's a major contributing factor. Unfortunately, that's not in Maye's control. Winning teams are built in the offseasons. The Patriots made one winning move this offseason (and maybe only one?) when they drafted Drake Maye with the third-overall pick in the NFL draft.

In addition, the Patriots' receiving corps is nothing to write home about—it's not even mediocre. Regardless, Maye played the cards he'd been dealt by a poor dealer in the front office and still moved the Pats' offense and scored more points than they had all season prior.

Maye finally starts but it's way late for the 2024 season

Maye finally got his chance, and he showed why it was a great decision by the Pats to brush off calls to trade that third-overall draft pick and draft him. The problem is that for whatever reason one might speculate led to the decision, he was kept on the bench far too long.

Maye ostensibly won the Patriots' starting quarterback job in training camp. For some reason, dictated by the front office or the Head Coach, Maye still sat for the first five games. It was a blunder and speculation suggesting the team may have tanked the season before it even began was justified.

One theory is that the head personnel person, Eliot Wolf wanted to justify his questionable expenditure on a journeyman quarterback, Jacoby Brissett. If that was the reason, it was a poor one.

Another is that Head Coach Jerod Mayo and his offensive coaches made the decision. Whoever made it, and for whatever reason, it made little sense. Brissett had started in only two of his eight previous seasons and had never been a bona fide starting quarterback.

Maye, on the other hand, was one of the top-three rated quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL draft (all of whom seem to be lighting it up now in the NFL). In addition, while he should have been starting, Maye was glued to the bench for most of the first five games. At least now, the Patriots seem to have gotten things right.

In retrospect, while they have finally done the right thing, the previous decision looks worse than ever. With Maye at the helm, the Pats could easily have a record of 3-3 and still be in contention in the competitive AFC East. Now, at 1-5, it's still achievable but less so than if they had done what should have been done in the first place.

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