Sure, the Patriots will be more interesting with Drake Maye at quarterback, but the Texans are a tough first matchup
The Texans arrive fresh off of a 23-20 win over the Bills in which they sacked Josh Allen just once, but hit him nine times, and held him to just nine completions in 30 attempts.
Welcome to Season 13, Episode 6 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious yet lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup …
Well, they’ll be more interesting. At least we’ll have that.
The quarterback switch-a-roo from veteran Jacoby Brissett to rookie Drake Maye five games and four losses into this bland Patriots season should bring some excitement to an offense that ranks 32d (or last) in passing yards per game (119.4) and 31st in total offense (250.8) and points per game (12.4).
The games are worth anticipating now that the 22-year-old Maye has taken over for Brissett, the ultimate placeholder quarterback who stood in there under constant siege with a toughness reminiscent of Steve Grogan, but managed just two touchdown passes.
Both of these things are objectively true: Brissett was battered. And he was bad.
It became inevitable in recent weeks that Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the most recent draft, would take over at some point this season.
I’ve strung together plenty of words already on why I do not believe this is the right thing to do for the big picture, the only picture that should matter this season. But that fast became a minority opinion, especially after Brissett’s inability to throw the ball down the field with any accuracy became more apparent.
I suspect Brissett’s rising changeup of a throw on what should have been a winning touchdown by Ja’Lynn Polk in the final minutes last Sunday against the Dolphins was the tipping point for many — perhaps even the Patriots’ coaching staff.
But even those who have been clamoring for Maye to play since, oh, he made that gorgeous (if incomplete) deep throw down the seam to Javon Baker against the Eagles in the preseason must acknowledge that the timing of this is peculiar.
The Texans are on the short list of teams that you wouldn’t want your talented but raw rookie quarterback to make his first career start against, at least if you’re at all concerned for his immediate and long-term well-being.
The Texans arrive fresh off of a 23-20 win over the Bills in which they sacked superstar quarterback Josh Allen just once, but hit him nine times, and held him to just nine completions in 30 attempts. You don’t see that 1-to-1 QB hits-to-completions ratio too often, especially against a quarterback of Allen’s magnitude.
The Patriots have allowed their quarterbacks (Brissett, plus Maye in a brief relief stint against the Jets) to be pressured on 48.2 percent of their dropbacks. The Texans lead the NFL with a 42 percent pressure rate. Ten Texans players have at least one sack, and they’ve recorded 31 quarterback hits in five games.
Even if you think the Patriots have some semblance of continuity on their mostly abysmal offensive line now that Vederian Lowe became the first Patriot to start a second game at left tackle, it feels desperate to debut Maye against coach DeMeco Ryans’s aggressive defense.
The mediocre-at-best Jaguars are on the docket next week in London. Maye’s first start couldn’t wait until then? It’s a cynical way of thinking, but this almost feels like a desperate form of appeasement — to ownership, perhaps, but also to fans who are bored by what a lousy team looks like.
Also, as Devin McCourty noted on Twitter, why announce that Maye is the starter? To give the Texans defense — ranked fourth overall (274.2 yards per game) and third (154) against the pass — a running start? Some mystery until game day would have been beneficial there. And these Patriots need every edge they can get.
It’s easy to wish for big things from Maye now, but it’s not particularly reasonable. In 12 dropbacks during his cameo against the Jets, he was sacked twice. His first pass hit a defender in the torso. He will hit on more big plays than Brissett, because he has a gifted arm, and because Brissett didn’t hit on many, if any.
But he’s going to make mistakes, big mistakes, rookie mistakes, probably ones that cost the Patriots points. For all of Brissett’s limitations, he turned the ball over only twice, both in the same game.
It is fitting in one sense that Maye is debuting against the Texans, because they are the model for what the Patriots’ rebuild should look like, if all goes well.
They hit the jackpot by landing quarterback C.J. Stroud (third in the NFL with 1,385 passing yards, tied for 10th with seven touchdown passes) with the No. 2 overall pick last year. Ryans, a former star linebacker like Patriots rookie coach Jerod Mayo, has changed the franchise’s culture. And former Patriots general manager Nick Caserio has loaded up the roster with a string of successful drafts.
Yeah, the Patriots will be more interesting with Maye at the helm. And the Texans are by no means invincible — they’ve actually allowed more points (114) than they’ve scored (102), largely because of a 27-point loss to the Vikings in Week 3.
But in a certain way, we’ve already seen how this will probably go. In Week 2, Stroud could be seen offering words of encouragement to Bears rookie quarterback (and No. 1 overall pick) Caleb Williams after the Texans’ 19-13 win. Williams, who is more polished than Maye and has played very well lately, was discouraged after being sacked seven times and throwing a pair of interceptions.
Should Maye experience a similar day, don’t say we didn’t warn you. But hey, at least he gets to debut in those cool Pat Patriot throwback jerseys. Here’s hoping his isn’t in tatters by game’s end.
Kick it off, Slye, and let’s get this thing started . . .
Three players worth watching other than the quarterbacks
Ja’Lynn Polk: The rookie receiver’s statistics against the Dolphins (one catch on six targets for 13 yards) were hardly spectacular, and pretty much in line with his production this season.
He has nine catches on 19 targets for 74 yards and a touchdown through five games. His season highs (or career highs) are three catches for 30 yards in Week 4 against the 49ers.
But everything is about to trend upward. Polk’s separation scores have been up and down, but he’s shown a knack for catching contested balls — and he would have been the savior of last Sunday’s game had Brissett made a better throw on what for a moment looked like a go-ahead touchdown, before an obscure but correctly interpreted rule determined Polk didn’t get his entire second foot inbounds.
Polk played every offensive snap against the Dolphins, and he stands to benefit more than anyone from Maye taking over for Brissett. These are the fledgling days of what should be a longstanding quarterback/receiver partnership. Now, if Polk can just maintain his focus a little bit more when things don’t go his way.
Stefon Diggs: Speaking of receivers who don’t disguise their frustrations, the veteran Diggs has fit in well with the Texans after coming over in an April trade with the Bills, who seemed to tire of his insistence on being the No. 1 option.
Diggs has been productive as the de facto No. 2 receiver behind Nico Collins — he has 31 catches for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Don’t tell him since he seems quite content in Houston, but that’s actually well off his pace through five games with the Bills last year (he had 39 catches for 520 yards and five touchdowns to that point, but didn’t have a 100-yard game after Week 6).
With the sensational Collins now on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury, Cooks should be Stroud’s top target Sunday in the league’s top-ranked passing attack (272.4 yards per game). Diggs has usually fared well against the Patriots, with 55 catches for 702 yards and seven touchdowns in nine regular-season games.
Will Anderson: The 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year has not piled up tackles this season — he has 11 in five games. But do not mistake that relatively low total for a lack of impact. Anderson leads the well-rounded Texans pass rush — which also includes veteran Danielle Hunter — with 2½ sacks, and he’s also accumulated five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. There is an excellent chance that Anderson, the No. 3 pick in the ‘23 draft, will get acquainted with Maye, the No. 3 pick in the ‘24 draft, early and often.
The flashback
On Dec. 17, 2006, the Patriots pummeled the Texans in the teams’ second all-time meeting, 40-7. In the third-to-last game he would ever play for the Texans, former No. 1 overall pick David Carr threw four interceptions, was sacked four times, and got hit four other times. There’s an extremely obvious cautionary tale in there somewhere that hopefully we won’t have to revisit around here.
Grievance of the week
What Jabrill Peppers is alleged to have done extends far beyond the parameters of any grievance, of course. So let’s keep this to football, and this recurring gripe: Can we please just get through one weekend without wondering if Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt understand how a game clock functions?
Prediction, or do you think J.J. Watt still has his letterman jacket? …
Fun fact: The Patriots are 7-0 at home against the Texans, including playoff victories in the 2012 and ‘16 seasons.
No-so-fun fact: That unbeaten streak probably ends Sunday.
Theoretically, the Patriots could give the Texans trouble with a ball-control offense. Houston has allowed 120.2 rushing yards per game, 17th in the league, while New England — which racked up 151 yards on 19 runs against the Dolphins — has averaged 131.4 yards per game, eighth in the league.
But Rhamondre Stevenson is dealing with a foot injury, so much will fall on Maye during his starting debut. Hopefully that won’t include any of his own linemen. Texans 24, Patriots 14.
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