With ample preseason action, plenty of practice reps, five games behind a veteran mentor in Brissett and a brief debut in Week 3, now is the right time for Maye to take over.
Brissett got New England off to a good start this fall, as the Patriots upset the Cincinnati Bengals, 16-10, in Week 1 on the road, but they’ve since lost four in a row and been outscored 92-46. Mayo’s group has scored just 26 points over the last three contests and hasn’t topped 13 points since Week 2.
New England has the ninth-ranked defense (20.4 points allowed per game), but the 31st-ranked offense (12.4 points per contest).
Brissett has gone 79-of-135 (58.5 completion percentage) for 696 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Maye took 16 snaps in the Patriots’ Week 3 defeat against the New York Jets and finished 4-of-8 for 22 passing yards.
The UNC product went 21-of-34 for 192 passing yards with one score and no picks in the preseason, while Brissett finished 5-of-14 with 36 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Maye was particularly impressive in New England’s preseason finale against the Washington Commanders, going 13-of-20 with 126 passing yards and one touchdown.
Mayo has been keeping the 2022 ACC Player of the Year fresh this fall too, as Maye has been sharing a near-split in reps at practice with Brissett.
The youngster also enters a situation where team expectations are low and the offense has already faced two of the tougher defenses on the schedule in the Jets (Week 3) and San Francisco 49ers (Week 4).
Of the next eight games ahead of the team’s Week 14 bye, the Patriots will only square off against two top-10 defenses. One of those is the Jets (tied for fifth, 17.0 points per game allowed), in Week 8, who are in disarray following the firing of head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday.
Maye’s first test on Sunday comes against the Texans’ 17th-ranked defense, which has allowed 74 points in their last three contests. Then the Patriots face the 30th-ranked Jacksonville Jaguars defense (28.6 points allowed per game), followed by Gang Green.
From Weeks 9-13, New England faces one strong defense (Chicago Bears, tied for fifth), two middle-of-the-pack units (Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins at 15th and 16th, respectively) and two bottom-of-the-barrel groups (Indianapolis Colts, 25th and Los Angeles Rams, 29th).
Maye may not have a great group of offensive weapons to work with this fall, but he has numerous other factors working in his favor as he makes his starting debut.
