Drake Maye shines, but another Patriots blowout loss shows rebuild has a long way to go

FOXBORO, Mass. — After Drake Maye’s humbling but ultimately promising debut as a starting quarterback for the New England Patriots, C.J. Stroud found Maye on the field for a chat. Cameras quickly circled the customary meeting between players at the most important position in sports. They exchanged a hug and a few words, then walked away as the cameras moved on.

But once the coast was clear and the attention had gone elsewhere, Stroud went back to Maye. At 23, he’s a year older than Maye, but they’ve known each other since Maye considered committing to Ohio State when Stroud was there. Stroud raved about Maye before the NFL Draft. They followed different paths to this point but kept tabs on each other.

From afar, the situations they were dropped into seemed similar. Stroud, the second overall pick in 2023, headed to a Houston Texans roster in need of repair. Same for Maye, just a year later, who went to the Patriots at No. 3.

But Sunday’s game, a 41-21 blowout win for the Texans, showed that even if Maye is as good as the Patriots hope he can be, even if he can match some of the highlights Stroud delivered in an astounding rookie season, the Patriots’ rebuild — unlike the Texans’ — is far from complete.

Houston dropped in the quarterback and surprised people with how quickly they became contenders. Stroud even guided the Texans to a playoff win a year ago.

That’s not happening with these Patriots, even if Maye’s debut meant the offense looked better than it had in a year. That’s because New England is such a mess that, while the franchise may have solved the question at quarterback, Sunday showed how flawed the rest of the roster is.

An offensive line that was bad to start with is now riddled with injuries. The running game that’s supposed to be the strength of the offense was borderline dysfunctional. The young wide receiver they hoped would flourish this season, second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk, had more drops than catches. And the once-prized defense that was the hallmark of a tough team was gashed over and over.

That left the Patriots in the awkward position of both being pleased with the debut of Maye, who helped the offense hit marks it hasn’t in a year, and concerned about how much longer this roster transformation might take.

“I told all those guys, I said, ‘You should feel like crap today,’” coach Jerod Mayo said of his defense.

But Mayo was complimentary of his new quarterback.

“It’s definitely encouraging,” Mayo said. “From a team-wide perspective right now, we let him down. It was his first game, and I feel like I let him down. I’m sure all the coaches feel like we let everyone down. We’ve just got to be better.”

Maye ended up 20-for-33 passing for 243 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The yardage number was the highest for a Pats quarterback in nearly a year (Mac Jones threw for 272 in Week 7 last season).

.@DrakeMaye2‘s first @NFL TD is to @KayshonBoutte1 🏈

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Oi7BpFvq6H

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 13, 2024

If he keeps playing as well as he did while the team struggles in almost every other phase of the game, the pressure will be turned up on this coaching staff. How can the running game be so bad, managing only 44 yards on 21 designed rushes for 2.1 yards per carry? (Maye was the Pats’ leading rusher on Sunday thanks to his five scrambles for 38 yards.) How can the defense be so bad against both the run (allowing 190-plus yards for a second straight week) and the pass, allowing three touchdowns and too often losing track of Stefon Diggs?

Still, there’s hope in Foxboro. Hope that maybe those were one-off issues against a good Texans team. Hope that better performances will come to match Maye, who played well after a rocky start even if there were some rookie mistakes mixed in.

Just twice since Tom Brady left had the Pats thrown for more than 240 yards and three touchdowns. Maye did it in his first start. Maye’s scrambling also got New England out of some bad situations behind their still-struggling offensive line.

In the days before Maye’s debut, Mayo said he sensed a renewed energy from the team. Then with Maye at the helm, the offense produced like it hadn’t yet this season — even if that’s admittedly a low bar to clear and they still turned the ball over four times.

“He’s got swag,” said Demario Douglas, whose 92 yards were the most by a Patriots receiver in 24 games, a streak dating back to 2022. “I’d run through a wall for him.”

The most important part of this Patriots rebuild is making sure that Maye is The Guy. Nothing else matters if they whiff on the quarterback. In that regard, Sunday was a step in the right direction.

But at the same time, it was also an unfortunate reminder of just how far the Patriots are from contending. The receivers need a major upgrade. Obviously, the offensive line does too — potentially as much as four new starters. Tight end depth is an issue. And that’s just the offense.

Sure, the defense is without some of its most important players: Christian Barmore, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jabrill Peppers and the departed Matthew Judon. But they shouldn’t make this big of a difference.

Of course, this isn’t to absolve Maye. His first interception was just plain bad. The second was unlucky, but he also needs to put more air on the throw to the flat so it doesn’t get deflected in the first place. And there was a sack or two he could’ve avoided by throwing the ball away.

But there were more positives from him than negatives. His first-half touchdown to Kayshon Boutte was the most air yards on a Patriots completion in three years, per Next Gen Stats. His 243 passing yards were the most the Texans have allowed this season.

Yet the Patriots still lost by 20. The game never felt in doubt.

That’s because, on a day when five rookie quarterbacks started an NFL game, it was also clear that Maye has the most to overcome, stuck with the worst situation among them. Even if it seems like the Patriots might’ve hit on the quarterback, their rebuild is still in the very early stages.