Here is who caught our eye, for better or worse, in the Patriots’ loss on Sunday.
The New England Patriots dropped their Week 6 contest 41-21 to the Houston Texans on Sunday to fall to 1-5 on the year.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
Winner: QB Drake Maye. It was far from a perfect day for the Patriots first-round draft pick. Maye sprayed some throws high — perhaps adrenaline/jitters, although not uncommon from his time at UNC — throughout the day, which helped lead to his first quarter interception when he overshot Pop Douglas.
But, Maye responded nicely and flashed the skillset that led to him being drafted third overall. That included a deep ball to Kayshon Boutte for a score and several off-script plays/scrambles where his mobility was on display. He also rebounded from his early misses to hit Douglas in stride on the receivers late touchdown.
Again, it was not perfect, but Maye’s first start was an encouraging one.
Loser: WR Ja’Lynn Polk. While New England’s rookie quarterback found success, his fellow rookie receiver was not the beneficiary. Polk finished the game with just one catch on four targets for four yards with two drops in the process — both on third down. The rookie entered the league being known for his strong hands, but Polk struggled in that department Sunday.
Winner: WRs DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte. The Patriots’ sophomore receivers were on the other end of the spectrum, as they both hauled in their first-career touchdowns from Maye and logged career-bests in receiving yards (Douglas, 92; Boutte, 59). Boutte was on the other end of the highlight of the day, as Maye found him for a 40-yard score to end the half. Douglas was the rookie QB’s top target, as his 92 yards, six catches, and nine targets all led the team. The success against man coverage was promising.
Loser: Run game. Offensively and defensively, the Patriots lost the ground game on Sunday. Without Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson took the lead role and managed just 19 yards on 13 carries (1.5 yards per carry). Much of that had to due along the offensive line as Houston stuffed six runs. Maye (five rushes, 38 yards) finished the game as the teams’ top rusher.
On the other side of the ball, New England’s run defense continued to struggle on Sunday. With Joe Mixon back in the fold, the Texans’ ran for 192 yards on 28 carries (6.9 yards per attempt), including explosives of 59, 54, and 20 yards. Jerod Mayo noted the team’s continued issues with tackling and run fits as a key part of the problem.
Loser: TE Austin Hooper. New England’s second string tight end played just over 50 percent of the team’s offensive snaps, primarily in their 12 personnel packages that took Douglas off the field. Hooper finished with just one catch which ended in a fumble — helping the Texans extend their lead to 27-7.
Honorable mentions:
- Hunter Henry found the end zone for the first time this season and also connected with Maye on a 30-yard catch-and-run on an off-script scramble completion.
- Credit to center Ben Brown, who signed on Thursday and learned of his start Sunday morning, for stepping right into action. Beyond handling the calls on the line on short notice, Brown did not allow a pressure according to PFF’s in-game tracking.
- Elsewhere on the offensive line, Trey Jacobs gave up two sacks (one strip sack) while Zach Thomas also gave up a pair working at left tackle for the injured Vederian Lowe. Again, neither are in a great situation which speaks to New England’s depth (and injury situation) at the tackle position.
- Marte Mapu had a pair of splash plays with an impressive pass breakup to lead to Marcus Jones’ INT and a split sack. His work in the run game is worth another look on film, however.
- Keion White seemed to have more success generating pressure in live time, while he finished with a pair of QB hits and a pass deflection on a screen.
- Christian Gonzalez shared post game he felt he did not play his best game. To his standards that might be true, but Gonzalez still held Stefon Diggs to just four catches for 39 yards and a touchdown.
- Solid bounce back day for New England’s special teams, but Houston’s decision to make JaMycal Hasty return a handful of kicks paid off. Moving forward, Isaiah Bolden would be worth a look at that spot.