Drake Maye gets nod to start at QB as Patriots try to snap four-game losing streak

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jacoby Brissett won only one game as the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback.

Now we’ll find out if he was any better as a mentor for first-round draft pick Drake Maye.

The Patriots are going with Maye as the starter for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, coach Jerod Mayo confirmed Wednesday, hoping the rookie can help the team slow the descent to the bottom of the NFL.

“It’s a winning league and we’re sitting here at 1-4,” Maye said when he subbed for Brissett in the weekly quarterback media availability. “And I think these guys around here want to win.”

Mayo said that’s why they are making the change in Week 6 rather than after a training camp in which, according to the coaches, Maye outplayed Brissett. The Patriots have lost four games in a row; they haven’t been competitive in two of them.

“We’re trying to win every game. At the time, we thought that Jacoby would give us the best opportunity to go out there and win games,” Mayo said Wednesday, a day after the decision was first reported. “Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward. He’s been developing. He’s been getting better every single week.”

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The Patriots have struggled at quarterback ever since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay in 2020. The have tried veterans, like Cam Newton and Brissett, and draft picks, like Mac Jones and now Maye.

His first opponent: the AFC South-leading Texans (4-1).

“It’s something you dream of, getting your first start in the NFL,” said Maye, who also said: “It’s an opportunity, against a good football team, to go out there and prove people wrong.”

Brissett spent the previous eight years with nine teams, including New England, mostly as a backup. He got the job out of training camp and held it for five weeks in part because there was little to be gained by putting Maye on the field with few offensive weapons and a patchwork offensive line that has given up 19 sacks in five games.

Mayo and Maye both said Brissett understood the decision.

“Jacoby is a warrior,” Mayo said. “He took the news very well, like a professional, like you would expect from a guy like that.”

After winning the opener and going to overtime in Week 2, the Patriots have had three-score losses to the Jets and 49ers and a 15-10 loss to Miami, another of the NFL’s worst teams, in which New England managed just two sustained drives.

Through it all, Brissett completed 79 of 135 passes for 696 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. On Sunday, he appeared to connect with Ja’Lynn Polk for the go-ahead touchdown with 62 seconds left; replays showed the receiver’s heel landed on the end line.

“He’s the ideal teammate, the ideal guy to be in the room with as a quarterback. You hate it for him,” Maye said. “The positive vibes he brought to this team — and will still bring to this team — he’s a great mentor, a great friend, and I was trying to do everything I can to help him, and I’m sure he’ll do the same.”

Maye said it’s helped to have five extra weeks to watch Brissett prepare during the week and that he listened to the play calls during games to learn as much as possible.

“I’m trying to tag along with Jacoby, a veteran in this league who does a great job,” Maye said. “I’ve learned so much from him and seeing how he goes about practice. That’s been the best thing of watching Jacoby, and watching how he handles the whole nine yards.”

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