FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — “Moving the football and finding completions.”
It was a simple answer to a complex question that was asked of Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye on Wednesday, about how he finds his confidence on the field.
“I think any quarterback, you kind of get more confident getting first downs, finding completions, making a good throw or making the right throw,” he continued. “That’s the biggest thing, making the right throw. At the same time, you get confidence from others… I try to remind myself on the sideline to kind of be the voice that pumps some guys up. Other than that, just try to kind of build my role as a leadership role each and every week as I try to earn the guys’ respect.”
Maye completed 20 of his 33 pass attempts in his first career start last Sunday versus the Houston Texans. Three of the completions went for touchdowns, and two of the incompletions for interceptions. Despite the two turnovers through the air (and one on the found via strip sack), Maye’s teammates seem to be all on board with having the rookie under-center.
“I love how he gained confidence throughout the game and I thought it was a good first game for him,” slot receiver DeMario Douglas said following Sunday’s contest vs. the Texans. “He’s [a good player] and I like the confidence that he had going into his first game. They are a good team and he held his own. We have a young offense, and we are making progress. [It was] our first game together as a young offense and I felt like we should be moving forward after this game.”
Douglas had a career day versus Houston, hauling in six receptions for 92 yards on nine targets and scoring his first NFL touchdown.
Tight end Hunter Henry was the beneficiary of increased production as well with Maye at the helm, catching three catches for 41 yards his own first touchdown of 2024. The captain was asked on Wednesday what he saw in his quarterback from a confidence perspective on Sunday:
“I think the progression through the game was big… one thing for him that I saw, obviously making some mistakes early, but just being able to bounce back was big. It can be tough sometimes early, making those mistakes, but he just continued to fire away, continued to go. I think that mental toughness is something that he can build on, we can all build on, and we can learn from.”
‘He has that confidence and never was down,” Douglas said about Maye’s early interception. “When you have a [quarterback] that is never down, it gives us confidence. He came into the huddle saying, ‘Come on, let’s go’ and pushed us to be like ‘We got your back.'”
Maye will need his teammates to have his back on Sunday if they want to get him his first win as a Patriot. The quarterback was pressured on 20 drop backs last week versus Houston — a rate of 47.6% according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He was also sacked four times.
The good news for Maye? The Jaguars are generating the third-lowest pressure rate in the NFL this season at just 26.9%. With a clean pocket against the Texans, the QB completed 12 of 18 passes for 162 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.
Taking on a 1-5 Jacksonville team with an abundance of confidence from both Maye and his teammates may be the perfect time for Alex Van Pelt to let it rip offensively.
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