This is part two of Drake Maye’s rookie season, following Part 1’s arrival to New England, along with his journey through his first offseason and preseason.
As rookie quarterback Drake Maye headed into his first NFL season, it became quite clear that his road to becoming the starting quarterback would have to wait.
It would be Jacoby Brissett who would be on the field in Week 1, leaving Maye to sit back and observe to begin the 2024 campaign.
In This Article:
- Mixed Messages At the End of Preseason
- Weeks 1-2: Patriots Play it Safe, And it Pays Off
- Week 3: Maye Sees His First Snaps
- Weeks 4-5: Frustration Sets In
- Week 6: Maye Finally Gets His First Start
- Week 7: Another Step Forward in London
- Week 8: Hard Lesson For Maye
- Week 9: Maye Showed He Had “It”
- Week 10: Maye Begins Taking Control
- Week 11: Maye Gets McVay’s Attention
- Week 12: More Hard Lessons
- Week 13: Another Loss, But an Outstanding Effort By Maye
- Week 15: Pats Lose Again, But More Progress
- Week 16: Bills Fans Get Their First Look at Maye
- Week 17-18: The Season Ends, Maye Gets Knocked Around
Mixed Messages At the End of Preseason
Following a strong finish to Maye’s preseason, head coach Jerod Mayo seemed to make one thing quite clear.
As well as Maye had played, Brissett was the player he believed was better suited to start the season for the 2024 New England Patriots.
“Just like I told you guys a few days ago, it’s a process as far as selecting who the starting quarterback is,” said Mayo on August 29, 2024. “We have decided, or I have decided, that Jacoby Brissett will be our starting quarterback this season.”
“Now, in saying that, as an organization, we’re 100% behind Jacoby. There is no, ‘You got a guy right here, you got a guy right there.’ We’re 100% behind Jacoby. I had an opportunity to talk to Drake. I had an opportunity to talk to Jacoby separately and also together. I feel like we’re all on the same page from an organizational perspective.”
Mayo then went on to add that he simply felt that Brissett gave the club a better chance to win to begin the season than the rookie.
“There are a lot of factors that led to this choice,” said Mayo. “I think the hard part is thinking in the short term and the long term at the same time. As an organization, though, we feel like Jacoby gives us our best chance to win right now.”
However, Mayo then told WEEI on Monday that he felt Maye had outplayed the veteran. At the same time, he also felt there was more that needed to be taken into account before making a decision on the starter for 2024.
“I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby,” said Mayo. “Now, in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and the beginning of training camp, and we’ll see where we end up. But those are the conversations that will happen here over the next couple of days.”
Weeks 1-2: Patriots Play it Safe, And it Pays Off
Week 1: Patriots @ Bengals | 16-10 (W)
Week 2: Patriots vs Seahawks | 20-23 OT (L)
Record: 1-1
For the first week of the season, the decision to let Maye learn behind Brissett seemed to be the right move. The Patriots went out and played a fairly flawless game against the Bengals, doing just enough to come away with a 16-10 victory on the road.
In that game, Brissett finished the afternoon 15-of-24 (62.5%) for 121 yards. While the veteran didn’t throw a touchdown, he also didn’t turn it over and New England instead relied on its ground game as they totaled 170 yards with Rhamondre Stevenson finishing with a rushing touchdown.
Overall, the mood was positive, and Mayo had praise for Brissett. While his quarterback did enough to win, it didn’t change the fact he took a beating throughout the contest.
“It was great. He made plays with his legs, he made plays with his arm,” said Mayo. “He’s a tough guy. I’m telling you, he took some hits in the game. I’m just like, ‘Man, get up.’ But he did everything that we asked him to do in the week, and we came out of here with the victory.”
The outlook leading up to the club’s Week 2 game against the Seahawks seemed positive, although the club quietly had an issue brewing. Chukwuma Okorafor, who the club had signed during the offseason hoping he would be its solution at left tackle, ended up lasting just 12 snaps during the opener against the Bengals.
The veteran struggled at left tackle against Trey Hendrickson, with the veteran being replaced during the game by Vederian Lowe. He had also previously finished the preseason having logged three penalties against the Commanders, and it quickly became clear he wasn’t up for the challenge.
Lowe eventually ended up being able to slow Hendrickson down, and that played a key role in the victory. However, days after the game, it was reported that Okorafor had left the team, and he would ultimately be placed on the “exempt/left squad” list the following Saturday.
Against Seattle, the Patriots again leaned on their ground game.
Antonio Gibson gained 96 yards on 11 carries, while Stevenson added 81 yards and a touchdown. But the passing game remained limited, with Brissett completing 15-of-27 passes for 149 yards along with his first TD pass of the season.
Things seemed poised for another big win after a 45-yard run by Gibson had the Patriots in great shape late. But instead of extending their 20-17 lead, the Seahawks blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye with 3:59 remaining in the game. Seattle would then go on to tie the game, forcing overtime.
In overtime, New England took the football and had their chance, but went 3-and-out on their first possession. The Seahawks then drove down and eventually kicked a 31-yard field goal to win it.
For a team with such a narrow margin for error, it was the first look at how fragile things were. Brissett had taken another beating, and they weren’t good enough to overcome bad football.
Little did they know, things were about to get worse.
Week 3: Maye Sees His First Snaps
Week 3: Patriots @ Jets | 3-24 (L)
Record: 1-2
In a Thursday night match-up on the road, the Patriots didn’t get much of a chance to regroup, and it showed during their 24-3 loss.
It was fairly ugly, with protection up front being a problem for the second straight game, while Stevenson would lose a fumble early in the fourth quarter in a game full of miscues that was never close.
With the offense stuck in neutral, Maye finally entered the game with 4:24 left to play as the rookie took the field for the first regular season snaps of his NFL career.
He would go 4-of-8 on that drive for 22 yards, while also converting a couple of fourth downs, one of which was an 11-yard run he made on a 4th-and-8 from the Jets’ 33, followed by a 15-yard throw to Demario Douglas on a 4th-and-10 from the Jets’22.
Overall, Maye gave the offense a bit of a spark as they marched down to the Jets’ 7-yard line, but the game ended on a sack on the next play, which saw the final seconds tick off the clock.
Still, there were glimpses that night that showed what the Patriots had in their young quarterback, which added some solace to a night where little positive was taken away.
“I just thought it was an opportunity, a good opportunity for him to go out there with the ones and put a few drives together,” said Mayo after the game on his decision to insert Maye late in the contest. “He moved the ball. We’ll watch the film and evaluate.”
Weeks 4-5: Frustration Sets In After Four-Straight Losses
Week 4: Patriots at 49ers | 13-30 (L)
Week 5: Patriots vs Dolphins | 10-15 (L)
Record: 1-4
After a rough few weeks, the Patriots’ issues on their offensive line continued.
Brissett took the field again in San Francisco, but New England’s problems up front only continued to become bigger.
Left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor left the team after the opening game, which was then followed by Caedan Wallace suffering an injury the next week.
That left them dangerously thin at left tackle, thrusting Demontrey Jacobs into the line-up as Mike Onwenu anchored things at right tackle.
But their offensive line issues were only part of the problem. Indecisiveness by Brissett, coupled with pressure by the 49ers, kept the Patriots from getting into any type of rhythm.
To make matters worse, Stevenson fumbled for the fourth straight game, losing his second fumble in as many weeks.
It was another game of mistakes and miscues, with Brissett’s inability to get rid of the football being what Mayo attributed that loss to after it was over.
“Well, I think there’s a combination of, schematically, we got to do a better job of getting the ball out of our hand right now,” said Mayo. “It’s easy on some of those sacks, you go back and watch the film, the ball should be out. It’d be easy for you guys and everyone else to say, ‘Well, the offensive line should have did that.’ I wouldn’t rush to that conclusion.”
The rumblings about a quarterback change began following their loss to the 49ers, but Mayo stayed the course for another week in what became a 15-10 loss at home to Miami,.
It was their 4th consecutive defeat, and this loss was ugly, for a multitude of reasons.
Coming into this game, the Patriots were among the least penalized teams in the league, but they were flagged a staggering 12 times for 105 yards, which made things difficult throughout the contest.
“We talk all the time about pre-snap and post-snap penalties,” said Mayo after the game. “It just wasn’t a good day.”
The Patriots’ ground game was again productive, with the team rushing for a total of 151 yards on 19 carries. Stevenson had a mistake-free game that saw him carry the football 12 times for 89 yards (7.4 avg), and included a 33-yard touchdown run.
But the passing game struggled again on Sunday. Brissett was just 18-of-34 (52.9%) for 160 yards and was held without a touchdown pass. He was sacked twice and under pressure for the majority of the afternoon.
The majority of those attempts came in the second half, where he was just 11-of-22 (50%) for 117 yards, which included 0-for-4 in the red zone.
It was the third straight week they hadn’t scored 20 points and the 4th time out of 5 games where they didn’t even reach that total. Through five games, they had mustered just 62 points, ranking them 31st ahead of only the Dolphins.
Asked after the game what the gap was like between Maye and Brissett at that point of the season, Mayo tried to avoid the topic.
“I don’t want to get into the separation talk,” said Mayo. “I will say, look, Jacoby is out there trying to do what we’ve asked him to do from the start. He’s taking some big hits, and his toughness continues to show up. Execution from the entire offense has to be better going forward.”
At 1-4, it was time for a change. And Week 6 finally saw Maye’s number get called ahead of their showdown against the Texans at Gillette Stadium.
Week 6: Maye Finally Gets His First Start
Patriots vs Texans | 21-41 (L)
Record: 1-5
While Maye didn’t keep the Patriots from dropping their fifth-straight game, the rookie brought an energy that the home crowd hadn’t felt all season.
He got off to a shaky start. He threw an early interception on a pass intended for Demario Douglas that sailed on him, which ended up in the hands of Texans safety Calen Bullock on New England’s second offensive series. Bullock then took it back 28 yards the other way before Maye ended up being the one to chase him down and make the tackle.
But just like in college, Maye got better as the game went on.
His biggest moment came late in the first half. Maye delivered the first big play of his career, firing a perfectly thrown 40-yard touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte. That brought everyone to their feet at Gillette Stadium, and it was a big reminder of why the Patriots had selected him that April.
The pass looked effortless, with Maye throwing it at a relatively low trajectory while hitting Boutte in stride down the right sideline.
Maye finished the afternoon 20-of-33 for 243 yards with three touchdowns. He did end up with three turnovers, with the rookie throwing two picks while also losing a fumble after he took a shot in the pocket.
Unlike his first errant throw, his second interception wasn’t all his fault. It came on a screen pass that was deflected, and Eric Murray made a ridiculous grab off the back of Austin Hooper’s helmet for the interception. Maye also lost a fumble on a strip-sack.
Still, even through the adversity, he remained even-keeled, and things never got away from him. It was a solid performance for the rookie, and one that Mayo felt like he could build from.
“His reads were good all day,” Mayo said of Maye. “I thought his reads were good. I’ll watch the film, obviously, but I thought he did a good job.”
Maye did take some hits during that game, but being younger and more athletic than Brissett did allow the offense to take advantage of some opportunities and make plays. The rookie was asked about how he was feeling and admitted that while hits come with the territory in the NFL at quarterback, he still needed to be better about avoiding them.
“I feel all right. I think, you know, you’re playing quarterback in the NFL, you know, you’re going to be sore the next day,” said Maye. “You know, it’s part of it. And probably need to do a better job of getting down or throwing it away, and I think I took a couple sacks maybe today where I could have thrown away or throw a check down instead of getting a sack and step up.”
Maye had mentioned earlier in the week that it was a “dream” to be getting his first NFL start, and he admitted that running out of the tunnel was definitely a big moment for him.
“Shout out to the fans. I thought they were great,” said Maye. “Gave me goosebumps running out there the first time. And they stayed basically almost the whole way through cheering. And it was pretty sweet to be out there in the reds [red throwback jerseys]. But like I said, I think you didn’t come out with the win. And that’s kind of the goal, especially in your first start.”
Week 7: Another Step Forward in London
Patriots at Jaguars | 16-32 (L)
Record: 1-6
Despite being in the national spotlight, Maye looked much more comfortable out there in his second NFL start as the team took on the Jaguars in London.
Maye completed over 70% of his throws, finishing the afternoon 26-of-37 (70.3%) for 276-yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.
The rookie got the club off to a fast start, engineering an 11-play, 68-yard drive on their opening drive that was capped off with a touchdown pass from Maye to JaMychal Hasty to give them an early 7-0 lead. He followed that up with another nice possession on the ensuing drive that ended in a 41-yard field goal by Joey Slye to extend things to 10-0.
Maye was much cooler in this game, calmly getting them in and out of the huddle, while showing some tremendous poise. Another thing that stood out came on a first down in the second half. Instead of looking panicked as Maye was forced to his left and was on the verge of being sacked, the rookie alertly flipped the ball at the ground in Hasty’s direction.
Instead of being a sack, the rookie avoided the negative play, which the commentators even noted was unusual for a rookie to be that smart in that situation.
That was a key decision, as Maye ended up capping off that drive with a tremendous touchdown strike to K.J. Osborn, with the rookie making a terrific throw under pressure to the veteran receiver. However, New England’s 2-point attempt failed after Polk slipped as he broke to his right, and the ball went incomplete. That left the score with the Patriots trailing 25-16 with just over 8 minutes left to play.
He also had two tremendous throws, one to Hunter Henry on a third-and-8 for 32-yards where the quarterback put it up where only Henry could get it to move the chains. He followed that one up with another great throw up the sideline to Kayshon Boutte, which went for 33 yards and put them deep in Jaguars territory at their 17-yard line.
That possession ended with a fantastic strike to Osborn for a touchdown, with the rookie showing off his arm on that play.
Another area that stood out was the rookie changing up the cadence, catching the Jaguars more than once.
Following the game, Mayo made a comment that would dominate the news cycle the next week, with the first-year coach saying they were a “soft football team.”
“Look, disappointing game. Disappointing game,” said Mayo. “We came out, we started fast. What I would say is, look, we’re a soft football team across the board. We talk about what makes a tough football team. That’s being able to run the ball, that’s being able to stop the run, and that’s being able to cover kicks, and we did none of those today. They controlled the ball for most of the day. Their run game averaged over 4.5 yards of carry. Our run game, not sure what the average was, but it wasn’t good.”
“Look, back to the drawing board. I mean, we can’t sit here and pout. We just got to put a game together.”
The loss extended the Patriots’ losing streak to six straight. They had also given up 40 points the previous week against Houston, followed by another 32 to Jacksonville.
When asked what Mayo believed was the cause of his team’s play, he didn’t really have an answer.
“I’m not sure. I mean, that’s something that I have to think about,” said Mayo. We have a long flight back, and I’m not sure. It’s not like all of a sudden we did something different and now we’re a soft football team. It’s just the mentality that we’ve got to get back in the guys.”
Meanwhile, Maye had taken another step forward.
Week 8: Hard Lesson For Maye
Patriots vs Jets | 25-22 (W)
Record: 2-6
Given the state of things, along with having lost six straight, the Patriots were in dire need of a win as Rodgers and the Jets came into Gillette Stadium.
Fortunately, Mayo’s team managed to end the skid, snapping their six-game losing streak with a last-minute victory over New York.
The only problem is that Maye saw this third start get cut short.
Maye got knocked out of the contest fairly early in this one. After rushing for a 17-yard touchdown on the team’s second offensive series, Maye suffered a hit on their next possession that put him in concussion protocol.
The play seemingly came as Maye took off on an 18-yard run on a 2nd-and-10 play where he picked up the first down and then some, but went into his slide late. As he was going down, he was hit hard by linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who dove in, and his helmet struck Maye’s as he lowered his head prior to Sherwood making contact.
The replay showed that Sherwood delivered a blow to the head, but no penalty was called. Maye remained in the game but was then sacked two plays later on a 2nd-and-4, and the quarterback then threw incomplete to Kayshon Boutte on a 3rd-and-12.
Maye left the game with the Patriots leading 7-6 with 13:53 remaining in the half and didn’t return.
Brissett stepped in and helped lead the team to its second victory of the season, with the win coming thanks to a game-winning touchdown by Stevenson.
Maye’s athleticism is certainly a weapon that had changed the offense through his early starts. But this game was a reminder that he needed to pick his spots, since being available was more important than a couple of extra yards.
Luckily, Maye cleared protocol ahead of his next game in Tennessee.
Week 9: Maye Showed He Had “It”
Patriots at Titans | 17-20 (OT) (L)
Record: 2-7
New England might have ended up on the wrong end of a frustrating 20-17 overtime loss in Tennessee, but it wasn’t for the lack of a terrific effort by Maye.
The rookie carried the day, with Maye rushing for 95 yards while completing over 70% of his passes. He ended up completing 29-of-41 for 206 yards along with a touchdown, although he did finish with two interceptions.
The first-year quarterback came up with the play of the day, pulling off a game-tying touchdown pass after an 11-play, 50-yard drive that ended in an absolutely unbelievable throw to Rhamondre Stevenson. That play saw Maye under extreme duress, yet somehow the rookie bought himself 12 seconds as he scrambled and moved around, before finally connecting with the running back on a throw where he was hit just before he released the football.
His throw landed in the hands of Stevenson in the end zone, as every player on the sideline began celebrating as the clock hit zero at the end of regulation and the score knotted at 17-17 following Slye’s extra point.
While the outcome didn’t turn out in their favor, Maye left a lasting impression, and his growth that week was apparent. Maye was extremely decisive, and despite having been in concussion protocol following the Jets game, it didn’t affect how he played. Maye did a good job surveying the field all afternoon while taking off each time he saw no one was open to throw to.
He showed zero hesitation and definitely didn’t shy away from any contact, including one play where he dropped his shoulder to pick up whatever additional yards he could muster.
“Yeah, never,” said Maye. “I should have probably broke that first one. Had one-on-one with the safety. I got to make somebody miss, man. So that’s on me.”
As for the two turnovers, it was tough to put too much stock into those plays given the context. The first interception happened when he was hit as he was letting go of the football on a pass across the middle of the field. The second was the game-ending pick he threw on a deep ball to Kayshon Boutte that he threw into the wind and didn’t quite get enough on.
The one encouraging factor was that Maye made the right read. Boutte had gotten behind the defender, and had Maye been able to get more on the throw to allow Boutte to stay vertical, it might have potentially been a game-winning touchdown.
Instead, the wind knocked the pass down, and the Titans ended up with the turnover to end the game.
Still, Maye admitted that given the fact it was a first-down play, it was a risk he shouldn’t have taken.
“First down and see the safety. I think we’re throwing into the wind. I got to put some more on it,” said Maye. “Just a dumb decision. Something you’d like to have back, especially in that situation. We’re going to go at least tie it up. We’re on, like I said, our own 40. Sometimes the best players throw it away. It’s a bad decision on my part.”
But one of the bigger moments that stood out during his comments after the game was when Maye talked about his overall approach.
“I tried to slide head first a little bit. Sometimes I think that’s just as dangerous diving at people’s legs,” said Maye. “But I’m not going to change the player that I am. When I’m past the protocol and cleared, I’m going to be the player. If they’re dropping out guys and there’s some rush lanes up front, I’m going to make them pay. That’s my mindset. Maybe I’ll make some better throws and maybe I’ll miss some guys, but at the same time, I’m going to play how I’m going to play.”
The “I’m going to make them pay” comment is exactly what you want to hear from your starting quarterback.
Meanwhile, the rushing game was stuck in neutral. Overall, of the 7 total rushing first downs the club had for the entire game, Maye was responsible for 5 of them, while Stevenson had two – one of which was his touchdown (the NFL counts a touchdown as a first down conversion on the stat sheet).
“You never really want your quarterback to be the leading rusher, and that’s in all facets,” said Jerod Mayo after the game. “We got to be able to move guys off the line.”
Week 10: Maye Begins Taking Control
Patriots at Bears | 19-3 (W)
Record: 3-7
Of the two quarterbacks, it was Maye who looked much more polished compared to fellow rookie QB Caleb Williams.
Maye played well in this game, completing 15-of-25 (60%) for 184 yards along with a touchdown and an interception. But one of the more notable moments actually happened before this game was even played.
According to reports earlier in the week, Maye was apparently unsatisfied with practice on Wednesday. That led the rookie to ask Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt if he could speak with the team, which he was granted. Maye then addressed his teammates following a mistake-riddled practice, letting them know that the focus just wasn’t there, which he emphasized would hurt them on game day.
His teammates clearly responded with a solid showing in Chicago, and the result was their third win of the season after a 19-3 win over the Bears.
That was a pretty significant moment for a player who was just in his first year, and it’s becoming more and more apparent that he’s gaining confidence.
“It goes back to now he’s starting to really take control of the offense and the team,” said Mayo after the game. “When you go out there, and you perform at a high level, that’s the first step. The next step is to bring others with you, and I think he’s on his way to doing that.”
Things certainly weren’t perfect, and the team got off to a shaky start. A botched snap on the second play of their opening drive took away the momentum of the 6 yards they gained on the first play, and that was followed up by Maye being sacked on that third down. But on the next possession, Maye led them on an 11-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Slye, his first of four on the afternoon.
His interception was a bad decision, with Maye not seeing the defender in front of Austin Hooper for the turnover late in the first quarter. Still, Maye would make up for it later on with a terrific 24-yard throw to Hooper late in the first half, which led to a 2-yard touchdown to Ja’Lynn Polk to put them up 10-0.
He also led the team on a terrific sequence with 0:35 left to play, with New England’s offense starting from its own 40-yard line before Maye drove them down to set up a field goal before the half. Maye made a terrific throw to Boutte on a crossing route to pick up 23 yards, with the quarterback then running down the field and getting everyone set just in time to spike the football with 0:01 left on the clock.
Slye hit the field goal, and they took a 13-3 lead heading into the locker room.
“Yeah, situational football has definitely been a strength of ours, especially over the last few weeks, the different situations that show up depending on the clock and the score and the timeout situation,” said Mayo. “I would say, again, we were ahead of the game, and it’s great to see when it comes to fruition.”
Maye’s step forward that week became a topic of discussion, and it was obvious that players around him were buying in.
Week 11: Maye Gets McVay’s Attention
Patriots vs Rams | 22-28 (L)
Record: 3-8
New England made a notable move ahead of Sunday’s game, with the Patriots waiving 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton to open up a roster spot for Christian Barmore, who was activated to the team’s 53-man roster on Saturday.
Still, some questionable coaching decisions squandered another solid effort by Maye and the offense.
Maye finished the afternoon 29-of-39 (74.4%) for 282 yards along with two touchdowns and an interception. He was terrific in this contest, fighting his way through another game where he was under consistent pressure, yet he continued to make plays.
The strip sack he lost the football on was a play where the line got overpowered inside, and Maye was drilled by Braden Fisk as the QB set his feet to throw the ball and the Rams came up with the turnover.
That play turned out to be pivotal, as it gave the Rams the ball at the New England 12-yard line, and Matthew Stafford hit Puka Nacua on the next play for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Rams up 14-7 late in the second quarter.
But Maye never let up. He brought them right back down the field on the ensuing possession on a 9-play, 57-yard drive that ended in a 32-yard field goal, and he also engineered another long drive following Cooper Kupp’s 69-yard touchdown, which saw Joey Slye hit another field goal to keep it within one score at 21-13. He followed that up with a 10-play, 70-yard drive to answer another Rams touchdown, keeping things close with Los Angeles up 28-19 after Slye had the extra point blocked.
“You look at it, and you can really see his ability to create off schedule. I thought he did a great job of being able to make plays in the pocket today, extend drives,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay of Maye. “I thought he was patient, taking some underneath check-downs where guys were able to create. We had tighter coverages, and he was able to fit the ball into tight windows.”
“He looks like a stud. I didn’t do too much work on him coming out. I do know a lot of people that studied him really hard that I truly respect their opinions loved what he was all about. You can see just the impact that he has on his teammates, the way people talk about him here. He looks like he’s going to be a special player for a long time, and he gave us fits today.”
On the interception, the turnover happened as the Patriots were trying to pull off another come-from-behind win, which fell short for the second straight week. Maye was targeting Demario Douglas on a 3rd-and-13 play from their own 25 after he’d been sacked for a 7-yard loss on the previous play.
However, there appeared to be a miscommunication where Douglas didn’t look back for the ball, and it was picked off.
“Yeah, it was a two-high look, and Pop’s up the middle, and they’re pretty good up front rushing five,” said Maye after the game on the play. “I tried to kind of put it on them and kind of hit them over the linebacker, and Pop was thinking probably deep.
“But at the end of the day, just got to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing. I guess … got to just talk through more conversations. Just goes back to me during the week doing more, talking through different situations, ‘Hey, I may put this one on you versus let it rip.’ That’s about it.”
Week 12: More Hard Lessons
Patriots at Dolphins | 15-34 (L)
Record: 3-9
Maye learned some hard lessons as the Patriots ended up on the wrong end of a frustrating 34-15 loss down in Miami. This one was more lopsided than the final score really showed, with coaching and mental errors being the story as the Patriots lost their 9th game of the season.
The lack of defensive adjustments in the second quarter saw Miami put up 24 points, with Tua Tagovailoa tossing three touchdowns during that span as the defense didn’t appear to have an answer.
They were badly outcoached in that first half, and the offense had its own issues. Vederian Lowe was flagged for a penalty on their first drive on 3rd-and-3, and then the offense committed three more penalties on the ensuing drive that put them in 3rd-and-16, with Slye ultimately missing a 45-yard field goal.
Lowe was flagged midway through the second quarter for holding, negating a 19-yard run by Stevenson, which put them in long yardage. Between being poorly coached and gassed after the offense went three-and-out on back-to-back drives, the defense was also in tough shape. As a result, the Dolphins were up 24-0 at the half.
That left Maye with a mountain too big to overcome. Maye did his best, completing an unbelievable throw after he was forced out of the pocket early in the fourth quarter on a 4th-and-15, with Maye firing it upfield to Hooper for a 38-yard touchdown.
But Maye also made his own mistakes in this one. Facing constant pressure, he tried to do a little too much, and it was costly.
As the rookie dropped back to throw and scrambled outside the pocket in the third quarter, he was wrapped up by Dolphins’ defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who, as Maye tried to fight him off, he lost the football, and the Dolphins recovered it at the New England 25-yard line.
Two plays later, the Dolphins were back in the end zone, and the score was 31-0.
That was a play where Maye needed to wrap up the ball and concede the sack and live to fight another down.
He also threw a fourth-quarter interception as he had a player in his face, with Maye trying to jump up and get the ball over the defender to running back Antonio Gibson.
Instead, the ball was tipped and ultimately picked off. That’s another play where Maye either needed to pump fake to try and create a window, or throw it away. As tall and athletically gifted as he might be, in the NFL, he’s facing other similarly gifted players, and he’s likely learning it’s a risk he can’t keep taking.
Even on the fumble, Maye still felt like he could have gotten out of it, which again, it’s hard not to appreciate that competitiveness, but he needs to resist that urge.
“The fumble, just find a way to protect the football and go down or find a way to get it out,” said Maye. “I think maybe I could have spun out of it, and maybe kind of reversed out of it, and maybe could have escaped it. But other than that, just can’t try to… I don’t want to swim-move the guy with a football. It’s just bad. Protect the football. We preached it all week, and I didn’t do that out there. The interception, just trying to check it down and happen to get tipped. So I’m not too worried about that.”
Maye delivered a message after the game to the guys in the locker room, with the rookie letting everyone know that they’re better than this.
“It’s tough. Any time you’re losing, I think, like I’ve always said, I hate losing more than I really like to win,” said Maye. “Losing sucks. I think, what I told some of the guys inside, just remember this feeling. Remember this feeling of really getting our butts whooped today. I think it’s only up from here. We got a bright future and bright players in there that are going to make some players for the Patriots.”
Week 13: Another Loss, But an Outstanding Effort By Maye
Patriots vs Colts | 24-25 (L)
Record: 3-10
New England’s battle against Indianapolis was probably Maye’s best performance to date, as the young quarterback put together an outstanding effort.
Maye completed 24-of-30 (80%) for 238 yards, along with a touchdown and an interception. The turnover should have been a touchdown, as the play came down on the goal line late in the third quarter.
It happened after they had marched down the field in a drive that started from their own 26, with the rookie firing a pass over the middle to tight end Hunter Henry.
The ball hit Henry in the hands as he was dropping down to the ground, with the tight end trying to stay low as Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin was diving at him. With Henry essentially sitting on the turf at that point, he continued falling backward, and the ball bounced off of his body into the hands of safety Julian Blackmon, who snatched up the football for the interception.
“Yeah, just try to get to him quick, and hopefully he gets in,” said Maye when asked about the play after the game. “I think I put on the wrong shoulder. I think if maybe I put on the opposite shoulder away from the defender, I think that’s maybe a completion there. But it was just unfortunate that it got tipped up. So, just a bummer.”
Maye had a solid second half, completing 7-of-10 for 69 yards, including completing 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter. But the biggest thing that continues to stand out is how much he continued to grow, and how easy it was at times to forget he was just a rookie given his poise and how he handles himself on the field.
The touchdown throw to Austin Hooper was impressive, with Maye lofting the ball over defenders and putting it in a spot where only Hooper could get it. Hooper then pivoted and took it into the end zone, which at the time put New England back on top at 16-14 heading into the locker room at halftime.
It’s just frustrating that they could never get control of the game, but credit Maye for keeping them in it.
New England actually led 24-17 with 5:34 left in the game, but the Colts ended up being the ones who delivered the knockout blow. Indianapolis put together a 19-play drive that went 80 yards and chewed up all but 0:12 seconds of clock, leaving the Patriots with no time to run another play for a chance to pick up the extra 5 yards or so that might have potentially helped Slye’s last-gasp 68-yard field goal attempt not fall short.
For a player who hates losing, Sunday’s loss, once again, didn’t sit well with Maye, who was visibly frustrated after it was over.
“Yeah, it was heartbreaking. I think our guys fought hard, did a lot of good things,” said Maye. “Coach Mayo just preached in the locker room we did a lot of good things on film. I’m proud of the way the guys fought. I’m proud of the defense. I thought they played their butts off, especially our guys up front on offense.”
“They did a great job. I think we ran football for a bunch of yards. I think we were efficient in the passing game and just came up short. It’s a bummer. I hate it for these guys. I hate it for these coaches. We’re practicing hard, we’re fighting hard, and just come up short.”
Week 15: Pats Lose Again, But More Progress
Patriots at Cardinals | 17-30 (L)
Record: 3-11
Coming off the bye week and a frustrating loss against the Colts, New England was hoping to take a step forward on the road in Arizona.
Instead, they took significant steps backward. In more ways than one.
Drake Maye put together an extremely efficient showing on Sunday. The rookie missed on just four of his pass attempts, completing 19-of-23 for 202 yards along with a touchdown and an interception.
Maye started off the game on the right foot, completing 10-of-10 in the first half for 71 yards. However, it was certainly a challenging stretch, especially after the Cardinals blew things up on their second possession of the contest.
Maye found himself battling early after left tackle Vederian Lowe got beat badly on the first two plays of their second series, which led to Stevenson getting dropped for a 2-yard loss and Maye taking a sack, which put them in 3rd-and-19 from their own 21. That was too much to overcome, and it was a repeated theme of what he’s more or less dealt with all season.
The Patriots spent most of Sunday’s game stuck in neutral until late in the contest, with the offense finishing the afternoon failing to convert on third down (0-for-6), while the defense, once again, fell apart in the second half.
One glaring problem that came up was center Ben Brown’s sudden inability to snap the football, which happened on the third snap of the game. Fortunately, Maye salvaged the play, calmly grabbed the football and completed a 16-yard pass to Rhamondre Stevenson. That play got the ball across midfield and into Cardinals territory, but it was a sign of things to come.
However, familiar miscues showed up shortly after. Two plays later, facing a 3rd-and-5 from the Cardinals 33, Antonio Gibson broke off a 15-yard run that would have gotten the offense down to the Arizona 18. But rookie Layden Robinson was called for offensive holding, which negated the play and backed them up 10 yards.
That penalty extended New England’s streak where they had committed at least one critical third-down penalty on either side of the football in every game to this point this season. Those types of mistakes and miscues have been an issue all year, and to see it that early in the game was just head-scratching.
“It’s very frustrating,” said Mayo. “We’re not a good enough football team to be able to go backwards and overcome those long-yardage situations as we’ve seen all season.”
To top it all off, kicker Joey Slye missed a 53-yard field goal three plays later, leaving New England empty-handed, and the ball was turned over on downs.
However, one sequence during the game led to the first sign that Mayo’s future was potentially in jeopardy. It happened during the Patriots’ first offensive possession of the second half, after New England had driven from their own 30-yard line all the way down to Arizona’s 4-yard line.
Following a play where Antonio Gibson had gotten stopped for no gain on the previous attempt on 3rd-and-1, Rhamondre Stevenson tried his hand at moving the chains on the following snap.
Unfortunately, Arizona kept him from picking up that yard, and the ball ended up being turned over on downs.
Maye did his best, but it’s tough to overcome bad football. Factor in the long-yardage they faced from penalties, and it put them in a lot of difficult situations, which Maye talked about after the game.
“Yeah, frustrating. I think kind of the same thing, showing up,” said Maye. “That’s probably the most frustrating part. I think we are hurting ourselves, getting in long distances, first and second down, and then not capitalizing when we get down in the red zone and the goal line. Kind of make it a one-score game. Those things just keep showing up over and over. We were addressing them and the guys I feel like we’re focusing on during the week and practice.”
Week 16: Bills Fans Get Their First Look at Maye
Patriots at Bills | 21-24 (L)
Record: 3-12
Coming into this game, it was obvious that Buffalo expected to roll over New England, but the Patriots came into this one with one of their more spirited efforts of the season.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who had been at the forefront of criticism in recent weeks, seemed to have the offense rallying around him to begin the contest.
On Sunday, we saw a much more spirited effort by the offensive line, which was extremely physical in the run game, while Maye also received much better protection than we had seen in recent weeks. The overall focus and execution were also better, with the players really dialed in for this one.
Starting fast was clearly a big key, and New England got going early. It started after Antonio Gibson returned the opening kickoff out to the Patriots’ 42, which set the offense up with terrific field position.
Rhamondre Stevenson drew a pass interference penalty a few plays in, and Maye went for the dagger, throwing a perfect deep ball down the right sideline to Kayshon Boutte. Despite good coverage, Maye lofted the football up and over the defender, with the wideout catching the football in stride as he took it in for a 28-yard touchdown.
Just like that, the Patriots put Buffalo on their heels, and it’s exactly what New England needed against a tough Bills club that certainly didn’t appear to expect them to be much of a threat.
That was followed by an absolutely incredible touchdown run on their next possession. On the play, Stevenson burst through the center of the line and blew past a diving Dawuane Smoot, with the defensive end unable to get his hands on him as Stevenson shot through the gap.
As he got near the goal line, Stevenson dropped his shoulder and plowed over defensive back Cameron Lewis, and then accelerated past the remaining defenders into the end zone.
It was an impressive individual effort, and that touchdown put New England up 14-0. The play also quieted what had been a fairly rowdy crowd to that point, and it gave New England a significant amount of momentum while leaving Buffalo’s fans in shock for most of that first half.
It’s not often we’ve been able to see this team force their opponent to play the game on their terms. Needless to say, Credit Alex Van Pelt for allowing the rookie to be aggressive to start off the game. It clearly was the right decision.
But mistakes ultimately cost them. The Patriots fumbled the football four times on Sunday, with both Drake Maye and Stevenson losing the football. Maye’s fumble came on a swing pass to Stevenson that was ruled a lateral, which happened as Stevenson had a defender bearing down on him. The ball went off his hands and instead of being ruled an incompletion, since the ball was thrown backwards, it was instead a fumble that was recovered in the end zone for a Bills’ touchdown.
Maye admitted after the game he should have instead just thrown it at Stevenson’s feet.
“Yeah, we’ve been running that play all season, just unfortunate that we didn’t get the end,” said Maye. “The end’s a big dude, and it’s a tough player to cut. So, that’s really just a tough break, and I’ve got to get back and maybe try to make it forward. But tough play on Mondre [Rhamondre Stevenson] to catch it and get blown up. So, I maybe either got to throw it at somebody’s feet or do something different.”
Stevenson lost a fumble prior to that play early in the third quarter on New England’s first offensive possession of the second half on a 2nd-and-2 run. The Bills ended up with the football at the Patriots’ 42-yard line, which led to a 50-yard field goal to put them up 17-14 after they had previously opened the third quarter with a 9-play, 68-yard touchdown drive.
Their problems continued on the next series after Maye drove them down to the Bills’ 16-yard line. Facing 1st-and-10, Maye had pressure coming in, and he threw deep into the end zone but well short on a pass to Hooper.
“We had a concept, and it kind of felt like it was going to be the same type of throw against the Colts to Hoop [Austin Hooper],” said Maye. “I let it go early, thinking he’d break it off, and just wasn’t on the same page. I’ve got to give him a chance.”
“I think he was thinking back pylon, so I’ve got to give him a better chance to maybe hold the safety a little bit. So, just frustrating we were down there. I got a chance to go up and make it a 21-17 ball game, and just a frustrating kind of heartbreaker.”
That killed the drive, and after the defense held, Maye and Stevenson had the swing pass that was turned over on the second play of the next series.
It was just a rough stretch that ultimately ruined what had otherwise been a promising start.
Overall, Maye finished Sunday’s contest 22-of-36 (61.1%) for 261 yards, along with two touchdown passes and his interception.
It’s yet another game where Maye played well but a couple of plays here and there proved to be the difference.
Week 17-18: The Season Ends, Maye Gets Knocked Around
Week 17: Patriots vs Chargers | 7-40 (L)
Week 18: Patriots at Bills | 23-16 (W)
Record: 4-13
The Patriots were a mess in what was arguably one of the ugliest games down the stretch at the end of the 2024 season. New England’s offense looked out of sync for a good portion of the game, and the defense couldn’t do much to slow the Chargers down.
Maye and the offense converted just 2-of-10 on third down, and they went 0-for-3 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the Chargers were 10-of-17 (58.8%) on third down while moving the chains on both of their own fourth-down attempts. They also dominated the time of possession by a massive margin, with Los Angeles holding the football for 40:34 compared to just 19:26 by New England.
They got plenty of pressure on Maye, sacking him five times and briefly knocking him out of the game after he took a shot to the head on a helmet-to-helmet hit that didn’t draw a penalty on the first series. He left the game and didn’t return until the second quarter.
Overall, it wasn’t his best performance as Maye finished 12-of-22 (54.5%) for 117 yards along with a touchdown.
His lone touchdown came on a free play where the Chargers were offside, and Maye rolled to his right as he was falling back and heaved the football down the field, with Douglas running under it in the end zone and coming up with a diving grab.
Meanwhile, the defense was a mess, and cracks were already starting to show. The coaching staff was under fire, but despite that, Maye tried to keep everyone steady with one week left.
The rookie defended his fellow coaches, saying they’ve simply lacked consistency, which remained a problem again that week.
“Yeah, I have full confidence in the staff,” said Maye. “I have full confidence in the players in there. I think, again, it just comes down to being consistent across the board.”
After the game, Maye said that teammate Jonathan Jones’ message resonated, and they needed to take a hard look in the mirror after that loss.
“Yeah, I think John Jones hit it in the locker room after,” said Maye. “I think it’s just two different teams, I feel like, that showed up with us between this week and last week. I think the two playoff teams we faced, and we see what we could do against a playoff team last week and just feel like it wasn’t there this week. I think, whether it’s just look back and self-evaluation, look myself in the mirror.”
“I definitely left some players out there. Everybody’s got to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, am I doing whatever we need to do to be on the same page and play good football?’ I think it’s in there. I think it’s in store for us.”
“Like I said last week, we got people in here that can make plays and good players in this league. So we just got to put it all together and find a way to do more, get on the same page offensively and get the ball rolling. I feel like that’s kind of the tale of two tales. When we’re rolling, we’re rolling well. When we’re not, we’re kind of stagnant.”
That game proved to be Maye’s last full game of 2024.
He started the final game against Buffalo, but lasted just one series as the club instead opted to showcase Joe Milton, who would go on to be traded the next offseason.
Mayo would be fired not long after the final game finished, leaving the Patriots in a similar position they were in just one year earlier.
Maye Sets the Foundation For 2025
While Mayo was out, Patriots fans at least finished 2024 knowing that Maye is indeed the right player for their future.
Despite all the chaos, Maye never wavered. With all of the offensive line issues, any other QB might have fared far worse, and we saw that during Mac Jones’ tenure. While Maye spent a good portion of the season running for his life, he ran with confidence and control, save for a couple of decisions where he absorbed significant shots that affected his time on the field.
For a team that will forever be measured by the incredible years that Tom Brady gave everyone over the course of two decades, it feels like the Patriots avoided the pitfalls that most other clubs in that situation tend to fall into.
While other teams sometimes go decades without finding their next “guy,” the Patriots weren’t even one year removed from Jones being dealt away before Maye landed in New England and got things back on track.
It wasn’t perfect. But Maye proved the Patriots had just the right quarterback to build around as they headed into another offseason wondering who will be leading the team ahead of the 2025 season.
Support Us: Help Us Compete Against The Corporate Media Giants
We need your help. If you enjoy our content, please help us beat Google's Corporate algorithm by adding us as a preferred source on Google News.
Click the button below and check the box next to "PatsFans.com"
Add as a preferred source on Google News
Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
More Patriots News Headlines:
Vrabel Confirms DeAndre Hopkins’ Patriots Departure
By: Ian LogueVrabel confirms DeAndre Hopkins' brief Patriots coaching stint has ended. The former wide receiver's departure occurred during training camp.
TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 7/30
By: Ian LogueHere's the full transcript of what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
MORSE: Notes From Patriots Training Camp Day 4
By: Mark MorseAnalyzing Day 4 of Patriots training camp, Kayshon Boutte shines w/Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez contract talks, and Gabe Jacas's injury mystery deepens.
Morse: Notes From Patriots Training Camp Day 3
By: Mark MorsePatriots training camp Day 3 notes reveal Gabe Jacas's rare injury waiver contract, plus updates on AJ Brown, Kayshon Boutte, and depth chart battles.
Monday Afternoon Patriots Notebook 7/27: Boutte Continues Making a Case, Interesting Jacas’ Contract Detail
By: Ian LoguePatriots training camp: Kayshon Boutte shines for Drake Maye, Caleb Lomu impresses, Hunter Henry's future, Gabe Jacas's contract, and A.J. Brown's health.
