Inside Drake Maye's first start with the Patriots, from a confidence-earning meeting to his seductive rollercoaster day

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As the New England Patriots went to the two-minute drill, their rookie quarterback settled in.

Drake Maye knew this Collection of calls. He knew the Houston Texans were playing man coverage and coming toward him. And the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft knew that the receiver he had been warming up with until the final substitution of his first series was asking for a shot.

So Maye took advantage of the Texans' belief that his first-quarter interception had quieted the downfield passing game. He took advantage of the gap he had given Kayshon Boutte against another third overall pick, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

Maye landed much cleaner than most Patriots this year, sailing a 40-yard touchdown onto Boutte's back shoulder.

“I felt like in this group we could push the ball downfield and make plays in the passing game,” Maye said. “I tried to let one ride along and give Boutte a chance.

“That was my thought process: Give him a chance.”

The Patriots didn't win Maye's first career start. The 41-21 loss to the now 5-1 Texans showed New England how far away it is from rallying around a heavily drafted quarterback to contend like the Texans are doing with CJ Stroud.

And yet Mayes' score for Boutte on his first touchdown might as well have described Mayes' own role in his first professional start.

Give them a chance.

Even as the Texans were outpacing New England, Maye seemed to be doing just that.

New England head coach Jerod Mayo praised how Maye controlled the huddle and read through the defense, flashing the quarterback's ceiling even as his ground shook at times.

The Patriots still have a long way to go – but against the Texans, Maye hinted at just how far he might be able to take them.

“It’s definitely encouraging,” Mayo said. “From a team-wide perspective, we let him down at the moment. It was his first game and I feel like I let him down.

“We just have to get better.”

Maye's ceiling and floor sparked a different Patriots style than Jacoby Brissett

The Patriots' decision to start Maye this week was controversial.

Few disputed that their offense was floundering with veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett. But was the team with the worst passing game, the second-worst scoring team, and the worst pass protection unit in the league really willing to support prime draft capital?

Decisions like these have ruined quarterbacks.

Maye wasn't immune to rookie moments, from his first three-pointer to sacks that seemingly caught him by surprise to a bout of happy feet that triggered an illegal downfield pass.

“I was definitely a little overwhelmed at the beginning,” Maye said.

He slowly realized how he could have controlled the ball if he threw it away. He recognized that pass rushers like Will Anderson Jr. could tip balls well enough to make interceptions, and that missed shots or miscommunications if DeMario Douglas went down in the first quarter would literally play into the opponent's hands.

“I missed a little way up there, and in this league you can't miss way past the middle,” Maye said.

On the 29-yard return, he tackled Texas rookie safety Caden Bullock.

Although Houston was able to score 17 points on turnovers alone in a day with two interceptions and two fumbles, Maye also ignited the Patriots' offense in a way it hadn't seen all season.

Mayes' first touchdown to Boutte covered 51.7 air yards, the longest completion by a Patriots quarterback in history, according to Next Gen Stats three Seasons.

His 6-yard touchdown to tight end Hunter Henry seemed to reflect a defense that respected the agility he carried for a team-high 38 rushing yards. Maye had three first downs on five runs while Rhamondre Stevenson was absent with a foot injury.

In total, Maye found three different receivers for touchdowns, giving Boutte the first of his season and Douglas the first of his 20-game career.

The quarterback was proud that Douglas was on track to score after the earlier interception against a previous Douglas target. Why not rebound with a second explosive touchdown?

Maye and his receivers had been doing extra reps every day after practice and were eager to carry them over to game day.

“Sometimes it was a lot of fun on offense,” Maye said. “That’s what I told the guys in the huddle at the end: We have the guys in the huddle. We just have to play a few more games and play complementary football.”

Insider meeting that helped Maye build trust — and where the Patriots go from here

Coming out of training camp, Maye impressed the Patriots with his creative arm angles and agility in the scramble drill. But until this week, his rotating cast of offensive players had limited insight into the quarterback's mental capacity.

Did the 22-year-old understand the reason for his moves or did he simply have the physical talent to shine anyway? How deeply did he understand protection?

On Wednesday, Maye's protectors received a crash course. He ran her post-practice pressure meeting and blew her away.

“It was impressive to have a rookie come in and lead that meeting,” left tackle Zach Thomas told Yahoo Sports. “He just ran the show (which) builds a lot of trust.”

Three different linemen talked about how Maye handled checks with his centers (the Patriots have already started three times this year), how his linemen would prepare to handle some of Houston's pressures, and what tasks they would face in response to the Texans' twists and turns Rushers would counteract.

Left-back Michael Jordan described Maye's presence in the game as “assertive” and “confident”, ensuring Brissett's set-piece didn't falter.

Sidelined center Nick Leverett (ankle) thought about a week earlier when Maye asked Leverett to explain a call he had shared with Brissett. Then Maye realized he knew the answer.

“As soon as I started saying it, he finished it and I said, 'Okay, all right, you might know that,'” Leverett told Yahoo Sports. “As a veteran, I was around experienced quarterbacks: Tom (Brady), Jacoby, Baker (Mayfield). Just seeing how much knowledge he has is good.

“For being so young, he’s very smart.”

Perhaps that acumen contributed to the decline in pressure rate the Patriots saw compared to the high-pressure Texans. TruMedia recorded New England's pass blockers allowing a 33.3% pressure rate after Brissett absorbed the pressure at a 50% clip.

Maye knew he had to have more success on first and second downs to avoid the third-and-longs that held the Patriots to 3-of-13 on the third day. But he also gave the Patriots a season-high 243 passing yards and 291 total yards, with Maye's three touchdown passes in one game surpassing the two thrown by Brissett in five games.

The Patriots needed to look no further than their daytime opponent to dream about the best-case scenarios for the remainder of Maye's rookie year.

Stroud came to Houston last year as a top-three pick for a similarly struggling Texas team and lost his rookie debut when he threw for 242 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

It wasn't long before he threw 23 touchdowns and five interceptions, catapulting Houston to division champions at 3-13-1 in his Offensive Rookie of the Year season.

Will Maye follow Stroud's path? The Patriots' supporting cast and the history of the NFL challenge that premise.

But Stroud's entry into the league shows how far a rookie can come from his first start to the end of his rookie year, let alone the end of his career.

Stroud's advice to Maye: focus on finishing, positivity, strengthening his supporting cast and discipline.

“This doesn’t happen overnight,” Stroud said. “You’re going to have bad days. You will have beautiful days. There are days when you think to yourself, ‘Man, I’m the worst quarterback in the world.’ But it’s always about getting up the next day to keep going.”

In an on-field exchange after the game, Stroud encouraged Maye.

“I told him how much I believed in him,” Stroud said, “and I hope he does well in this league.”