The Patriots are throwing Drake Maye into a tough situation against a strong Houston defense
FOXBORO -- Drake Maye is set to make his first career start for the New England Patriots on Sunday. He'll do so in front of New England's home fans at Gillette Stadium, but the rookie will have a lot to contend with. A lot.
It's not just playing behind New England's league-worst offensive line or a lack of firepower in the receiving corps. Maye is going to have to deal with a tough Houston Texans defense after leading the Patriots onto the field for the first time.
Why are the Patriots making the switch to Maye now?
The Patriots have lost four straight and are in desperate need of some life on offense. New England is averaging an abysmal 12.4 points per game this season, which sits 31st in the NFL.
A change at quarterback was needed. Jacoby Brissett did very little over the first five weeks to help the team win, and was struggling to make even the simplest throws and find open receivers. While New England's quarterback play is just one of the many issues that plagued the offense over the first five weeks, making a change at the most important position on the field is the most impactful way to try to make an immediate difference.
Maye is much more athletic than Brissett, so the hope is that athleticism will help offset the many struggles of the offensive line. Receivers have had a tough time getting open, but Brissett struggled to get them the ball when they did get free space. So the hope is Maye and his big arm will make the plays -- and throws -- that Brissett couldn't.
There's a lot of "hope" that comes with starting Maye. But rebuilds are built on hope, and the Patriots need all the hope they can get at the moment.
The Patriots need a jolt on offense and are turning to Maye to provide that. The biggest question now is if Maye is ready -- and are the Patriots ready for Maye?
Jerod Mayo has been talking up "The Plan" for Maye without saying what that plan is since the summer. It's hard to imagine that the plan was to give Maye his first start against a really tough Houston defense, but the 22-year-old has apparently shown great strides in practice. Albert Breer posted on X on Tuesday that this QB transition in New England did not happen overnight, dismissing that this was a reactionary move to a bad loss to a bad team.
Maybe the plan was to play Brissett until Maye showed that he was ready and then make the move. The circumstances around him aren't the best for a rookie making his first career start, but it can't possible get worse than what the Patriots offense looked like with Brissett. At least that's what the Patriots are hoping for in turning things over to Maye.
How have quarterbacks fared against the Houston defense this season?
In a nutshell, not well. And the Texans are coming off a Week 5 win over the Bills where they held Josh Allen to just 131 passing yards.
In Week 1, Indianapolis' Anthony Richardson compiled 212 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception against Houston. So far, he is the only quarterback to eclipse 200 passing yards against the Texans this season.
No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams threw for 174 yards against Houston in Week 2, and was picked off twice in Chicago's 19-13 loss. He was also pressured on 48 percent of his dropbacks and sacked seven times.
Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence threw a pair of touchdowns against the Texans in Week 4, but threw for just 169 yards in a 24-20 defeat.
The quarterback with the most success against Houston this season has been Minnesota's Sam Darnold, who is no longer seeing ghosts now that he's in Viking purple. He completed 17 of his 28 passes for 181 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-7 drubbing of the Texans in Week 4.
Maye is going up against an extremely talented Houston defense in his first career start, one that has made life miserable for quarterbacks. Starting your first NFL game brings a lot of pressure, and that doesn't include all the pressure Maye is going to see from the Texans defense.
Maye will be working behind a makeshift New England offensive line too
Maye will also be operating behind an offensive line that is -- to put it lightly -- not particularly good. Staring center David Andrews has been lost for the season with a shoulder injury, which has left converted guard Nick Leverett to assume all the duties that go with being a starting center in the NFL.
At least the Patriots will have the same line in back-to-back weeks for the first time this season, with Vederian Lowe at left tackle, Michael Jordan at left guard, Leverett at center, Michael Onwenu at right guard, and Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle. That's not how things were drawn up in the offseason, but it's where the Patriots are at right now.
At least there were some signs of improvement last week. That group allowed Brissett to be pressured on 43.8 percent of his dropbacks in Week 5, which was actually a season-low for the Patriots' O-Line this year.
Overall, the Patriots are the 31st-ranked team in terms of pass-blocking on PFF. They've allowed a 48.3 percent pressure rate for the season, which is last in the NFL. Brissett was sacked 17 times over the first five games, and Maye was sacked twice on his lone series in his debut against the Jets in Week 3.
Meanwhile, the Texans have a league-best 42 percent pressure rate for the season. Houston has 15 sacks over the first five games, and their pass-rush is pretty well distributed. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. leads the squad with 2.5 sacks, while defensive end Derek Barnett and defensive tackles Tim Settles Jr. and Mario Edwards Jr. all have two sacks on the year. Ten different Texans have recorded a sack this season. Daniel Hunter has 1.5 sacks, and leads the NFL with 29 QB pressures.
Hopefully the extra athleticism that Maye brings will have a trickledown effect for the offensive line. But he won't have a lot of time to dissect the Houston defense, which will be coming at him quick -- and often -- on Sunday.
Maye is going to have a lot to digest -- and a lot of hits to absorb -- in his first career start, so expect a good amount of learning experiences (meaning mistakes) from the rookie. A showdown with a stout Texans defense isn't an ideal starting point, but the Patriots are ready for Maye to start gaining in-game experience as he sets out to show the football world that he can lead New England for years to come.
Tune in to Patriots-Texans on WBZ-TV -- your television home of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), kickoff is set for 1 p.m., and after the game stick around for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
