After a wild week, the ‘desperate’ Patriots are throwing Drake Maye into the fire

What do the Patriots see in Drake Maye now that they didn't see at the beginning of the season?

The Patriots could use some good news.

They have lost four in a row since stunning Cincinnati in the season opener. They have the worst passing attack in the NFL, averaging just 119.4 yards per game.

They are the second-lowest scoring team in the league, and the only team averaging fewer points than them just beat them at home last Sunday.

It is fair to say that things are getting desperate in Foxborough, cornerback Jonathan Jones said.

“Oh, desperate. You can use that word,” Jones said. “We’re 1-4 right now and we need a win. I mean, that’s just point blank. Call it what it is. We need all guys to go out there, fly around, and do what we can.”

So, here comes Drake Maye. The heralded rookie quarterback with the big arm and ability to make off-schedule plays has been called in to elevate the offense. He will make his first NFL start on Sunday against the Texans, replacing veteran Jacoby Brissett,

Maye’s promotion comes at a critical point for the Patriots, who have endured a troubling week.

Last Thursday, the Patriots scrubbed a podcast episode during which Patriots.com reporter Evan Lazar said the locker room was “teetering on a mutiny.” His comments in that moment were largely about how players felt about the coaching staff keeping Maye on the bench.

“You have young receivers who are throwing tantrums,” Lazar said. “At what point in time do some of these guys say to themselves, ‘why am I out there getting my butt kicked and Drake can’t? Why am I going out there with a quarterback that can’t get me the football when we have a Ferrari back in the garage?'”

On Sunday, the Patriots lost to division rival Miami for the seventh time in eight games. They had 1st-and-10 on the Miami 12 with a minute and some change to go and were unable to execute after throwing the ball four times in a row. The Patriots had nearly as many penalties (12) as non-penalty-related first downs (13) in the sloppy loss.

On Monday, Patriots safety and captain Jabrill Peppers was arraigned in Quincy. He faces charges of strangulation, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a family/household member, and possession of a Class B substance, believed to be cocaine.

He has pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, but the NFL stepped in and placed Peppers on the commissioner’s exempt list. Peppers cannot play in games while he is on that list.

Maye is not necessarily playing because of these things. Personally, I hope that’s not the case. But all these things happened in the week leading up to his promotion. This is part of the context surrounding his ascension to the starting quarterback role.

Even the news of the quarterback change was reported to the public before Mayo could tell the team.

“A little bit,” Mayo said when asked if he was disappointed. “Any type of decision that’s a big decision, you want to let the team know first. But in saying that, look, these guys, they read everything, and you know, it’s fine.”

On a football basis, it makes sense that a team with an offense that’s been struggling as much as the Patriots have would want to bring the No. 3 overall pick off the bench. He also has to play in order to gain experience and develop.

But, for weeks now, Mayo has said that his thinking was about the long-term when it comes to Maye’s future. The Patriots’ long-term development plan for Maye was the reason he began the season on the bench despite outplaying Brissett in training camp, which Mayo had previously said on multiple occasions.

So, what changed? What do the Patriots see in Maye now that they didn’t see at the beginning of the season?

“At the time,” Mayo said Wednesday. “We thought that Jacoby would give us the best opportunity to go out there and win games, protecting the football, really running the offense … Going forward, I think now, Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward.”

“He’s been getting better every single week, as I’ve said before. At the end of training camp, he actually was trending at a very high rate. That has continued through the early part of the season. So, it was solely my decision to make this choice.”

Keyword: Now. The Patriots want good vibes now. They want to change the narrative now. They want reinforcements to help the team now.

Mayo said the Patriots did not speed up their development plan, but it’s hard to imagine that he circled the Texans game on the calendar as the ideal starting point for Maye at the beginning of the season. Houston was a playoff team last year. They have started this season 4-1 and are tied for eighth in the league in sacks.

“No, I wouldn’t say the plan was expedited,” Mayo said. “Again, the end of the training camp, [Maye] was trending up, and that never slowed down. So, at this point, he gives us the best chance to win.”

By all accounts, Maye has looked good in practice. Mayo said he was pleasantly surprised with Maye’s smarts and “out of this world” work ethic. Receiver Kendrick Bourne joked that Maye might have a faster time in the 40 yard dash than him. Maye showed flashes of his arm talent during the preseason.

Maybe he’s ready to go. Maybe he’ll be awesome on Sunday, lead the Patriots to victory, and eventually change the trajectory of the season. Who knows? It’s too early to tell.

What we do know is that things look bleak for the Patriots right now. October hasn’t been kind to the Patriots so far, and now they’re going with Maye.

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.