Welcome to the NFL, Drake Maye. With less than five minutes to play in the New England Patriots Week 3 matchup against the New York Jets and trailing 24-3, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo has sent veteran Jacoby Brissett to the bench and thrust his first-round rookie quarterback into the fold.
This was Maye's first taste of regular-season action since he was the No. 3 overall pick at the 2024 NFL Draft out of UNC. Maye did battle it out with Brissett for the starting job throughout the summer, but despite a late surge with some strong showings in the preseason, the job was ultimately given to the veteran.
Here comes Drake Maye for his NFL debut!#NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/8Orpe19S04
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In this game against the Jets, Maye's first pass attempt fell incomplete as he targeted tight end Austin Hooper and nearly got intercepted. His second pass was a completion on a short completion to Kayshon Boutte. On the night, he completed four of his eight passes for 22 yards and took two sacks.
Given the nature of how this Week 3 contest got out of hand, it's unclear if this is a changing of the guard for the Patriots under center. Really, it looks more like the team waving the white flag and getting Brissett -- who was sacked five times on the night -- out of harm's way. Brissett completed 12 of his 18 throws on the night for just 98 yards as New England's offense struggled to find any rhythm.
As a team, the Patriots totaled just 139 yards yards of total offense in the 24-3 defeat compared to the 400 yards of offense registered by New York.
