Jerod Mayo impressed by Drake Maye’s first Patriots start but acknowledged lack of support “let him down”

Drake Maye wasn't perfect, but his more than 200 yards and 3 touchdowns outing against a strong Texans defense left head coach Jerod Mayo impressed.

Jerod Mayo impressed by Drake Maye’s first Patriots start but acknowledged lack of support “let him down”

Drake Maye (Image via IMAGO)

The New England Patriots are 1-5 after suffering a blowout 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, yet there’s optimism in Boston. Drake Maye‘s first start for the Boston franchise gave a renewed sense of hope that the Patriots may have found their messiah.

After just four games, the Jacoby Brissett experiment felt like a dud, so head coach Jerod Mayo opted to start his rookie first-round quarterback. Maye completed 20-of-33 for 243 yards, with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. In just one game, the 22-year-old overtook his veteran counterpart’s total of two touchdowns.

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Maye’s arm talent is no joke, but the other area in which he surprised everyone was his ability to stay calm despite the Texans’ blitz behind the Patriots’ unsettled offensive line. Mayo acknowledged that, as a team, they could have supported their quarterback better.

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He [Drake Maye] went out there and controlled the huddle, made some plays, and it’s definitely encouraging. I feel like I let him down, and I’m sure all the coaches feel the same.

Jerod Mayo said on Monday

The Patriots are worst in both the red zone and third down conversion in the league this season. However, Sunday’s performance gave Mayo something to work on during the bye week.

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Patriots Insider hails Drake Maye but also throws caution

NFL seasons are long, and each year they seem to be getting longer. More football means increased entertainment and source material for fans to gossip about, but it also brings challenges—mainly injuries to players.

Jerod Mayo impressed by Drake Maye's first Patriots start but acknowledged lack of support let him down
Drake Maye (Image via IMAGO)

The 2024 season just completed its sixth week of football, and several starting quarterbacks are in rehab, and a couple were close to joining them. Most of them were casualties of taking matters into their own hands because of the bad o-line. Teams like the Ravens, the Chiefs, and the Lions have the most Pro-Bowl-caliber linemen because they keep their quarterback away from any danger.

Jerod Mayo had the chance to fix the Patriots line, which has ranked in the bottom half since the Covid pandemic. He failed to address it in the off-season and so far has used six different starting combinations, disrupting the balance.

On top of it, the Patriots have a very inexperienced wide receiver core—the majority of them first- and second-year wideouts. This only adds more brownie points to Maye’s performance against the Texans, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran.

Am I saying that he played perfectly? Absolutely not. But I think a lot of his mistakes were byproducts of the protection around him and youthfulness.

Tom E. Curran said at Post Game Live

It forced Maye to use his legs to make more plays, and as a result, he took more hits than he should have had (7 total hits and was sacked 4 times). This has been a problem for the Patriots their entire season, with Brissett being sacked 17 times, 3 fumbles, and losing the ball once for a return.

The promise lies in Maye’s passing play, which used to be the Patriots’ USP in the 2000s and 2010s but slowly diminished right near 2020. Maye’s 243 passing yards benchmark was only breached three times last season (256 vs. Broncos; 272 vs. Bills; 306 vs. Eagles). Five times in 2022, and since 2020, five quarterbacks combined have thrown 300 yards combined just nine times.

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In comparison, Tom Brady recorded 300 yards 108 times in the preceding 19 years. Brady may never have had the greatest receiving core, but Bill Belichick always took extra care to place battle-hardened linemen as protection. Mayo should do the same for Maye by adding his own spin to it, which will take time.