Although the Patriots fell to their fifth consecutive defeat this week, their No.3 overall draft pick seemingly impressed many with his first career start in New England. Having finished his day with 20-of-33 passes for 243 yards, 3 TDs and two interceptions, the Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo expressed his regrets with the result.

As the game ended in favor of the Texans 41-21, the Patriots’ defense couldn’t help the rookie QB as Mayo shared, “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, and it’s gonna be better.” Considering the way Maye took his first start this season, with a 40-yard TD pass to WR Kayshon Boutte, the sky could be the limit for the rookie.

While the 38-year-old spoke about not giving enough support to Drake Maye, he did praise his efforts in New England, “I thought he showed a lot of poise. I thought he went out there and controlled the huddle and got the guys out of the huddle and once again made some plays and it’s definitely encouraging.” Leaving out the four sacks and two interceptions, Maye enjoyed a great time dictating plays from the beginning.

His first career TD pass to Boutte was the longest any Patriots QB threw since 2022. Even some fans were excited about seeing Maye making those plays, “We finally got a guy who can push the b— down field.” Although these aren’t the expectations the Patriots had this season, moving on from Jacoby Brissett as starting QB may bring a change in fortunes in the next few games. Opening up on his debut as a full-time starter, Maye did praise the coaching staff while speaking about his early game drive, “I was a little amped at the start for sure.”

Even though his start in New England didn’t bring a win for his team, there are clear signs of him pulling the Patriots from the trenches this season.

Drake Maye kicks off a new era in New England

Patriots, who averaged only 12.4 points since their opening week, found themselves scoring a season-high 21 points against the Texans. His three TDs surpassed Brissett’s two over the five games he played this season. Well, it wasn’t the only stat that showed Maye’s potential to lead this Patriots side. As the rookie completed 59.3% of his passes, while the 30-year-old only completed 58.5%, which is astonishing considering the number of games he played over Maye.

Although his 40-yard TD pass garnered huge praise from the Patriots faithful, his 35-yard TD to Demario Douglas was sensational, to say the least. It wrapped up a special day for the 22-year-old who etched his name in the Patriots record books after recording more than one TD since Bailey Zappe threw two last season against the Broncos.

However, the question is, can Maye continue to record such numbers week in and week out in a Patriots roster that doesn’t have enough firepower? Seeing him perform within this lineup surely brings some hope to New England, which was going nowhere when Jacoby Brissett led the line in the first five games this season.