LONDON — Drake Maye sat on the bench at his familiar spot on the New England Patriots sideline, stuck and unable to get back on the field as the team’s defense was slowly shredded. For more than 11 minutes of game time, the defense couldn’t get a stop — even though all of Wembley Stadium knew a run was coming.
“Shoot,” Maye said afterward, “for a while in the second half, we had one drive the whole half.”
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Because of the defensive disaster that the Patriots have become, it’s easy to overlook how well Maye has played in his first two starts. After going 20-for-33 passing for 243 yards and three touchdowns in his debut last week against the Texans, he followed it up with a 26-for-37 day for 276 yards and two more scores Sunday against the Jaguars. In two games, that’s 519 yards, five touchdowns against two interceptions and a 65.7 completion percentage.
Seven games into the official start of this rebuild, it seems like the Patriots have very few pieces they can actually build around – except the quarterback. It’s only been two games, but Maye has been one of the few bright spots the last two weeks, a rookie given a bad offensive line and little in the way of weapons, yet he is still producing.
Amazingly, as bad as the situation is for the Patriots, it might be better than the opposite of having a great roster but no franchise quarterback, given how hard it is to find a guy worthy of playing the most important position in sports. So while the Patriots are in a bad place and there’s plenty of well-deserved criticism to go around, if you squint hard enough and look only at the big picture, at least they seem to have the quarterback question answered.
That can feel like small potatoes when you’re watching the Patriots get bullied on a weekly basis. They’re not just losing, they’re getting blown out by teams so thankful for a get-right opportunity against the Pats. To see the previously 1-5 Jaguars manhandle them so easily was a sobering sight. Up next: a reeling Jets squad that will be delighted to head up to Foxboro to sort out its issues.
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Still, if you put together a preseason checklist of the 10 most important things for the Patriots this season, they might be failing at Nos. 2 through 10, but at least the most important aspect of this rebuild is trending in the right direction.
In the last two weeks, Maye ranks 13th among NFL quarterbacks in yards per attempt (7.4), sixth in touchdown percentage and 17th in expected points added per attempt. That’s not going to instantly make him a top-10 quarterback, but those are impressive marks considering what surrounds him on this roster and that these are just his first two starts.
Now, in fairness, I’d understand if you’re not interested in optimism after six straight losses and watching your team get outscored 142-63 over the last five games.
And there are fair caveats for Maye’s play. It’s only been two games. Lots of players can look good for two games. Maye is always under pressure, which ups the injury risk. Even though he didn’t throw any interceptions in London on Sunday, he had multiple turnover-worthy plays. Maybe all of the losing discourages Maye and changes the way he plays. All of that is fair to note.
Another aspect of this is worth getting into, and that’s what Maye’s emergence might mean for Alex Van Pelt. After the Patriots interviewed nearly a dozen offensive coordinator candidates, several of whom turned them down, there was fair thought that Van Pelt could land on the hot seat if the offense struggled. And it has struggled. Even with Maye’s strong first two games, the Patriots offense ranks 30th in the league in yards per game and 29th in points per game.
But if Van Pelt’s No. 1 job this season is developing Maye, you’d have to give him strong marks there. And if he successfully pulls off the most important part of his job, would that ensure the OC returns next season? That’s a question to be answered another day.
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Perhaps the most impressive part of Maye’s play so far is how he has produced despite the rest of the offensive personnel. At this point, it’s hard to decide which is worse — his wide receivers or his offensive line.
Second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk has been a bust these first seven games, even if the Patriots insist he’ll soon start playing a bigger role. Still, he might need to sit for a game or two after more drops on Sunday. The former Washington star has caught only about a third of his targets, turning 26 passes into just 10 receptions for 78 yards. Demario Douglas is great against man coverage, and it would be nice if Kayshon Boutte turns into a deep threat.
But this group of receivers doesn’t scare anyone and sets up an interesting offseason question. Are the Patriots better off trying, once again, to draft and develop a wide receiver? Or should they pay free-agent-to-be Tee Higgins an unfathomable amount of money to ensure he can’t say no to Foxboro?
The offensive line continues to be a patchwork, and after Layden Robinson’s ankle injury, they may be headed for an eighth different starting lineup in eight games.
Both the receiving corps and O-line should be better for Maye next season. (They can’t be any worse, right?)
Through it all, the 22-year-old quarterback has looked more than competent, especially for a rookie in a tough situation. On his first touchdown pass Sunday, he avoided a free rusher and smartly threw the ball to the flat where JaMycal Hasty did the rest. On his second, he ripped a 22-yard fastball over the middle of the field to hit K.J. Osborn in the end zone, a beauty of a pass.
There’s no shortage of issues for the Patriots at this point. But with little else going well in a trying season, at least their rookie quarterback is offering some hope for the future.
