Drake Mayes' first big plays were a beautiful TD and… a tackle? | NickNacks

Here are some half-baked thoughts and trinkets (aka NickNacks) that came to mind while watching the first half of the game between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans on Sunday:

– Well, the fans got what they wanted: Drake Maye is now the starting quarterback of the Patriots. The offense didn't really bring any light into the game right from the start. Alex Van Pelt scored two straight ineffective runs early in the game, drawing early critics from the crowd.

– It probably didn't help that Mayes' first pass of the game was bounced way out of bounds to the Patriots' sideline on third down.

– Maye’s second pass attempt marked his first completion. The rookie pulled the ball on the play and hit Kendrick Bourne for an 8-yard gain.

– On his third pass attempt of the game, the rookie quarterback was involved in his first big play as a Patriots. It wasn't the good kind.

– Maye shot deep to Pop Douglas late on a cross route. However, the ball flew high and into the waiting arms of Houston's Callen Bullock. The Texans' safety had a solid performance, but Maye did a great job of finding Bullock in space and bringing him down with a clean tackle. If Maye doesn't make this tackle, there's a chance Bullock will exploit him for a pick-six. You can watch the piece here.

– The interception was not a positive development. But the tackling was much better than what we saw from Mac Jones at times last season.

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– We knew Maye could move. But it was encouraging to see him make some plays with his legs early against an NFL defense with his 11-yard run. It was also encouraging to see him cover the ball with both hands as he shot down the field.

— Take a look at that. Maye can hit a damn deep ball. The rookie crowned his goal before halftime by firing a beautiful ball downfield to Kayshon Boutte. The ball got to the sophomore receiver, making the score 14-7 at halftime.

– The Patriots really struggled in the first 29 minutes of this game. But Maye and the offense only needed a minute to put together a game-changing performance and get into the game. This type of playmaking and downfield passing was missing from the offense while Jacoby Brissett was at the helm.

– With Rhamondre Stevenson out due to injury, Antonio Gibson started in the backfield. It wasn't an easy day for him. His first three runs totaled zero net yards. He needed seven carries to surpass 10 net yards on the day (seven carries for 12 yards).

– Another week, another starting five along the offensive line for the Patriots. This week we got a surprise start with newly signed center Ben Jones starting the game.

– Left tackle Vederian Lowe left the game with an ankle injury. Lowe was rolled from behind onto a sack of Maye. Right Tackle Demontrey Jacobs was the culprit in this play and was badly beaten by Will Anderson Jr.

– Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm pretty sure I heard chants of “MVP” from the crowd when Patriots punter Bryce Baringer came out for his third kick of the game.

– Fun fact: Baringer now has 23 straight games with a 50-yard punt. This is the longest active streak in the NFL

– The Patriots continue to have problems with penalties. It was a big problem early on in defense. New England's secondary was hit with pass interference calls on each of its first two drives, both of which resulted in touchdowns.

— The secondary circuit jumped back on the third trip. Safety Marte Mapu intercepted a pass to Dalton Schultz (without drawing a flag) and deflected it straight to Marcus Jones.

– For most players, it would be best to kneel down. But since Jones is an All-Pro returner, he gets a free pass to go out. In the end he made it 27th.

– Great performance by Jaylinn Hawkins in the second quarter in pursuit of Joe Mixon. The Texans' back looked like it had broken away for a long touchdown. However, Hawkins tracked him down 59 yards and set up Jones' pick a few plays later

– Lucky breakthrough for Mapu, who started the year on the PUP list. For a moment, it looked like his injury problems would resurface. The Patriots announced that he was questionable to return due to a neck injury. However, the second-year safety returned to the field a few plays later.