The Patriots' offense is poor, but Drake Maye is showing he can improve it

Patriots

Maye has five touchdown passes, each to a different receiver. It's an early sign that he can take this group up.

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You know things aren't going well when a head coach appears in front of an international audience and says his soccer team is soft.

That's exactly what Jerod Mayo said about his football team on Sunday after their 32-16 loss to the Jaguars, and according to some of his players, he's exactly right.

But even though the Patriots were on a six-game losing streak and have lost their last two games by an average of 18 points, an encouraging pattern emerged at one point in the game.

Rookie quarterback Drake Maye is showing early signs of improving his unit by distributing the ball.

According to Patriots PR, Maye has five touchdown passes, the most ever by a Patriots quarterback in his first two starts.

All five of his touchdown passes went to another receiver.

Second-year receivers DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte had never caught a touchdown pass before playing with Maye. They both have one now. Hunter Henry had been one of Brissett's favorite targets, but after a pass from Maye, he crossed the end zone for the first time this season. KJ Osborn and JaMychal Hasty contributed to the overall standings on Sunday.

And that's not even mentioning that Maye's mobility and decisiveness allow him to extend plays and save the offensive line from time to time.

The Patriots' offense has been terrible for years and one player isn't enough to fix the problem. That's why the ability to nurture others is such an important trait for Maye as he assumes the role of franchise quarterback. It's nothing new for Maye either.

His high school coach Scott Chadwick told a story about the lengths Maye went to to make sure his teammates were included in a video posted to the Patriots' X account.

“Extremely coachable. He listens. He wants to get better and is very smart. “Drake’s junior year we were very good,” Chadwick said. “We averaged 50 points a game this year and Drake came over at halftime and looked at the stats. My middle son was our stats guy, and I said something to him like, “What’s Drake doing?”

“He said, 'Dad, he doesn't look at his stats,'” Chadwick added. “He wants to see how many balls each player caught in the first half. And then he came to me and suggested plays where the guys who hadn't caught a lot of balls could get some balls. He was always focused on making sure everyone was happy.”

Making everyone happy is an unrealistic expectation. There are 53 players in a football squad and a lot of different egos and personalities.

But this struggling Patriots team could use as much help as possible, and Maye is smart to get as many people involved as possible. On Sunday, he completed passes to nine different receivers.

“He’s got that swag,” Douglas said earlier this week. “He came to the huddle and said 'let's go' and I said 'let's go', I'm ready with you.” I would run through a wall for him. Team player. My boy Drake, we have his back.”

Brian Thomas Jr. torched the Patriots' secondary

Jacksonville receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught the Jaguars' only touchdown pass of the game, a six-yard pass that left him wide open.

The coverage of his biggest catch of the day was much better. Christian Gonzalez was stride for stride with Thomas, but Trevor Lawrence put the 58-yard ball right where it needed to be and Thomas was able to focus and bring it down.

He also scored a two-point conversion following Parker Washington's 96-yard punt return. No other Jaguar had more than 35 receiving yards. It was just Thomas' day. He caught all five of his targets.

Identity crisis

For the second straight year, Maye was the Patriots' leading rusher. He tied Rhamondre Stevenson for the team lead with 18 yards. The Patriots had 38 total rushing yards.

Earlier this season, Mayo said the Patriots weren't a fancy football team and that running the ball was a key part of their offensive identity.

After a strong start in Cincinnati in the opening game, the Patriots' running game has steadily declined over the past two weeks until it was virtually nonexistent. Since the loss to the Dolphins on October 6, no Patriots running back has had more than 20 yards.

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Khari A. Thompson

Sports reporter

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Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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