2024 stats: 2 games | 58.5 pct | 265 pass yds | 6.5 ypa | 3 pass TD | 2 INT | 50 rush yds | 0 rush TD | 1 fumble

I was worried when Jerod Mayo announced Maye would make his first NFL start in Week 6, not because I didn’t think he was capable of handling the job, but because the Patriots’ offensive line had proven it couldn’t protect Jacoby Brissett consistently. Much to my surprise, New England produced a better operation with Maye under center. It wasn’t pretty at first, of course, as Maye appeared nervous, threw an ugly interception by sailing a pass over Demario Douglas‘ head, and nearly fired beyond Antonio Gibson‘s reach in the first half. But Maye settled in eventually, launching a beautiful touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte just before halftime. His internal clock was a bit off overall, first appearing sped up before slowing down enough to allow the Texans to record a strip sack. However, Maye seemed to acclimate over time, improvising to find Hunter Henry for a third-down conversion before working through a well-designed play-action call along the goal line, resulting in a scoring toss to Henry. Sure, the game was out of hand in the fourth, but it was still full of important reps for Maye, who stood tall in the pocket before connecting with Douglas on an intermediate crosser for his third touchdown pass of the day. It wasn’t a sparkling debut, but there was a lot to like — which is more than the Patriots could say about Brissett.