There were not a lot of positive things to take away from the New England Patriots’ 32-16 loss in Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. However, rookie quarterback Drake Maye was a major bright spot for the team.
In just his second career start, Maye put together a very strong performance. He handled his business, but the rest of the team came up short.
When everything was said and done, Maye completed 26 of his 37 pass attempts for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with three carries for 18 yards.
That stat alone shows just how poorly the team played around Maye. A quarterback leading the team in rushing with 18 yards is not an ideal situation.
At just 22 years old, Maye is already showing legitimate superstar potential for the Patriots.
New England faced a lot of criticism for their decision to bench Jacoby Brissett so early in the season from the media. With the offensive line struggling and the wide receivers not playing well, the media felt that Maye was being thrown to the wolves.
Many young quarterbacks have been put on the field too early and have been rattled from being sacked or making mistakes. Quite a few of those quarterbacks were never able to rebound and get their career back on track.
Maye has been nothing close to being one of those quarterbacks.
In his debut start, he threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. Despite the mistakes he made, his confidence level stayed high and he made play after play.
During his second start, Maye picked up where he left off. He played relatively mistake free football, took care of the ball, and made plays. The young quarterback has also been elevating his teammates around him.
Through two starts and one drive this season, Maye has completed 64.1 percent of his pass attempts for 541 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. His rushing totals are 10 carries for 68 yards.
Robert Kraft, Jerod Mayo, and company could not have asked for a better first two games to start his career.
So far, he has proven himself capable of being a long-term franchise quarterback. There is still a lot of work for him to do and more to prove, but the start to his career has been nothing short of impressive.
Hopefully, Maye will be able to continue playing strong football throughout the rest of the season. As impressive as he has been thus far, he is nowhere close to his full potential.
Expect to see Maye continue playing with confidence and leadership. He’s a natrual talent and the Patriots seem to have struck gold with him for the future.