FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jacoby Brissett won only one game as the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback. Now we’ll find out if he was any better as a mentor for first-round draft pick Drake Maye.
The Patriots are going with Maye as the starter for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, coach Jerod Mayo confirmed Wednesday, hoping the rookie can help the team slow the descent to the bottom of the NFL. “It’s a winning league and we’re sitting here at 1-4,” Maye said when he subbed for Brissett in the weekly quarterback media availability. "And I think these guys around here want to win.
” Mayo said that's why they are making the change in Week 6 rather than after a training camp in which, according to the coaches, Maye outplayed Brissett. The Patriots have lost four games in a row; they haven't been competitive in two of them. “We’re trying to win every game.
At the time, we thought that Jacoby would give us the best opportunity to go out there and win games,” Mayo said Wednesday, a day after the decision was first reported. “Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward. He’s been developing.
He’s been getting better every single week.” The Patriots have struggled at quarterback ever since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay in 2020. The have tried veterans, like Cam Newton and Brissett, and draft picks, like Mac Jones and now Maye.
His first opponent: the AFC South-leading Texans (4-1). “It’s something you dream of, getting yo.