Patriots players impressed with Drake Maye’s confidence, toughness in first career start

Maye led the Patriots to their best offensive showing of the season in Week 6 against Houston.

Drake Maye’s first career start for the New England Patriots did not begin how he hoped. After an opening three-and-out, Maye sailed a pass which resulted in an interception on the following drive.

Despite the shaky opening and pressure he had to deal with throughout the day (four sacks, four QB hits), the rookie’s confidence never wavered.

“I commend his toughness, first and foremost. His competitiveness was great,” captain Hunter Henry said. “He got hit a few times early, he threw an interception early and just continued to come back, continued to fight, continued to get back up and continued to play at a high level, too. As a young player, to be able to bounce back like that, I think it’s more even the mentally tough than maybe some of the physically tough.”

The early interception was not the only blemish on Maye’s first report card. The rookie’s accuracy was spotty at time beyond the pick while he also lost a fumble on a strip sack to begin the third quarter — part of dealing with a 47.6 percent pressure rate throughout the day.

Beyond the expected rookie mistakes and early deficit New England faced on the scoreboard, Maye settled down as the game went on en route to finishing with 243 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think he did phenomenal,” Kendrick Bourne said post game. “I pointed out that him getting hit, he kept playing, he didn’t seem too rattled. He didn’t just start doing different things, he stuck to what he does, what he practices. I think he understands that he’s going to get hit and I think that is huge. Obviously, we’re struggling on the line as everybody knows, in a sense, but he’s doing a good job playing hard.”

“I love how he gained confidence throughout the game and I thought it was a good first game for him,” said DeMario Douglas. “When you have a [quarterback] that is never down, it gives us confidence. He came into the huddle saying, ‘Come on, let’s go’ and pushed us to be like, ‘We got your back.’”

Starting center Ben Brown, who Maye helped get up to speed after arriving on Thursday, added.

“I think he handled it perfect,” Brown said. “He really took control of our offense. There was no hesitation when he was in. I felt completely confident when he was back there at quarterback… His confidence makes me confident.”

In addition to the mental side of things, Maye’s physical tools stood out as well. Despite offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt not calling any designed quarterback runs, Maye finished as the team’s leading rusher with five scrambles for 38 yards.

“The way he was running the ball was impressive. I think his athleticism, his ability to throw on the run and things like that,” Bourne said. “It’s how he runs with his body, like he’s running left, but facing forward to throw the ball. I think those traits are what you see around the league. Patrick Mahomes, these new age quarterbacks, throwing the ball on the run, extending plays.”

The off-script plays also came with Maye using his legs — most notably on a 30-yard catch-and-run by Hunter Henry after Maye escaped the pocket to his right before finding the tight end on the move.

“He’s super athletic. He’s very mobile, so you’ve got to be ready at all times, any route to be able to kind of convert into a scramble drill kind of mode,” Henry said. “In that moment, he was able to just kind of find me and make a play. He’s a playmaker; he’s a great player, and he’s only going to continue to get better.”

While New England ultimately dropped Maye’s first start 41-21, players seemed to leave the field knowing they have the right guy — as both a quarterback and leader — behind center.

“He’s a natural leader, he has aura,” Bourne said. “That’s important in football. Some people have aura, some people don’t, so he’s kind of one of those. He doesn’t have to try, he’s that guy. It’s important, you can tell when you see him. He passed the eye test, so when he’s in the huddle, he knows what he’s doing. You can feel it, it’s important.”