How will Drake Maye perform against the Texans? Simulating rookie QB’s first NFL start – NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots will be hoping for rookie quarterback Drake Maye to right the ship when they welcome the Houston Texans to Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

Maye replaces veteran signalman Jacoby Brissett as the Patriots’ starting QB, with the team aiming to avoid a four-game losing streak. The third-round draft pick made his official NFL debut at the end of New England’s Week 3 loss to the New York Jets, but Week 6 will be his first career start.

Will Mayes’ presence give the Pats’ offense a much-needed boost? Or will the North Carolina product face similar struggles as Brissett with a porous offensive line and a lack of weapons at his disposal? Our partners at Strat-O-Matic simulated Sunday’s game once with Maye and once with Brissett to see what difference the young QB made.

Here were the results. . .

The Patriots, led by Drake Maye, almost caused an upset

While Maye doesn’t rock the world in his first NFL start, he does give the Patriots a chance to upset the Texans 4-1 in front of their home crowd.

In the simulation, Maye completed 23 of his 33 passes for one touchdown and one interception. His first NFL TD, a five-yard pass to running back Antonio Gibson, came with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter.

Maye’s numbers don’t jump out at you, but the bottom line does. New England lost by just one point, 21-20, with the rookie under center.

The Brissett simulation is a continuation of what Pats fans have begrudgingly seen in recent weeks. He completed 16 of 30 passes for 155 yards, no touchdowns and one INT. The only points for New England came from field goals as the team suffered another significant defeat with a score of 21-6.

The Maye Effect – Which pass catchers benefit?

With starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson out with a foot injury, dual-threat back Antonio Gibson has emerged as New England’s strongest offensive weapon. In the Maye simulation, he recorded 84 rushing yards and a TD on 17 carries while catching eight passes for 57 yards and another TD.

Rookie second-rounder Ja’Lynn Polk leads the receiving corps with four catches for 32 yards.

The offense is controlled by Gibson with Brissett as QB. In the Brissett simulation, Gibson has 20 carries for 88 yards and six catches for 43 yards, despite not making it into the end zone. Tight end Hunter Henry totaled four catches for 42 yards and Polk was held to two catches for 17 yards.

Diploma

Maye is feeling growing pains in his first start, but gives Pats fans reason to cheer in a game that comes down to the wire. While his stats aren’t anything to write home about, they represent a noticeable improvement as the Maye-led offense is capable of making big plays in the red zone, something the Brissett-led group has struggled with in recent weeks. All in all, it’s an encouraging start to the celebrated first-rounder’s NFL career.

Maye’s actual first start is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Foxboro.