A new era for the New England Patriots begins Sunday when Drake Maye makes his first career start against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium.
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Maye would play over veteran Jacoby Brissett, who has started each of the first five games of the season. New England enters Week 6 with a 1-4 record at the bottom of the NFL standings.
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Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo revealed Wednesday why he made the decision to turn to the rookie quarterback at this stage.
“Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward,” Mayo told reporters at a press conference. “He’s been getting better every single week. As I've said before, at the end of training camp, he was trending at a very high rate, and that has continued in the early part of the season. It was solely my decision to make this choice.
"I had a one-on-one conversation with Jacoby. I had a conversation with Drake. We're all on board. Jacoby is a warrior. He took the news very well, like a professional, like you would expect from a guy like that."
Maye's first start will come against a Houston Texans defense that has been elite at defending the pass and rushing the quarterback this season.
The Texans rank No. 3 in pass yards allowed and have several top-tier pass rushers, including Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Houston made Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen look pretty bad last week.
“There’s never a perfect time to make a change (at quarterback),” Mayo said.
“Every defense, whether it's the defensive ends or the tackles, they all have the ability to rush and get after the quarterback.”
