Have the Patriots found their new starting center in recent pick-up Ben Brown?

"I’ve never seen it before — A guy being able to come in here after four or five days and become the starting center."

Jerod Mayo, Drake Maye, and the rest of the Patriots weren’t focused on finding silver linings after a 20-point loss to the Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

But Mayo changed his tune on Monday, focusing in particular on New England’s gains on offense.

Of course, the strides the Patriots made with Drake Maye under center were evident on Sunday. But the next day, Mayo wanted to highlight a key cog in the middle of New England’s offensive line.

The Patriots’ O-line hasn’t necessarily been lauded by Mayo and the rest of the Patriots this season, especially after coughing up 23 sacks through the first six games of the 2024 season.

But Mayo was impressed with the play of new center Ben Brown — who was signed by New England off of the Raiders’ practice squad on Thursday. Despite only taking part in two practices with his new team, Brown excelled in his debut Sunday against Houston.

Even with his limited reps last week in Foxborough, Brown leapfrogged Nick Leverett as the team’s starting center against the Texans.

The 26-year-old Brown played in all 100 percent of the Patriots’ offensive snaps on Sunday and didn’t allow a sack, pressure, or commit a penalty in front of Maye.

“Look, this is one of those things, I’ve never seen it before,” Mayo said Monday of Brown’s performance. “A guy being able to come in here after four or five days and become the starting center. So, he did a great job.

“I would say he probably was our best lineman yesterday, and he did a good job for us. He did a good job all through the week during practice, and then went out there and performed pretty well.”

Brown was one of the few Patriots’ offensive linemen who held their own against Houston’s stout pass rush.

The Texans finished with four sacks and eight QB hits against Maye, with starting right tackle Demontrey Jacobs knocked for two sacks. After starting left tackle Vederian Lowe exited the game with an ankle injury, backup tackle Zach Thomas allowed two sacks of his own.

“We still have to get settled on an offensive line,” Mayo noted on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Monday morning. “I know the focus is always on the quarterback and what he can understand, and Drake is a very smart person. In saying that, it’s not just him on the field… I do think going forward, hopefully, the O-Line settles down even though we lost Lowe yesterday.”

Brown’s encouraging performance after getting thrown into the fire on Sunday is a welcome sight for a Patriots roster in need of good news. The Patriots took a significant hit up front with captain and longtime center David Andrews ruled out for the rest of the year due to a shoulder injury.

Leverett performed admirably in place of Andrews during a majority of the Patriots’ Week 4 loss to the 49ers. But the veteran severely regressed in Week 5 against the Dolphins — allowing one sack, three QB hits, and getting whistled for a hold.

It’s clear that the Patriots are buying into Brown’s impressive debut. New England announced Monday evening that they released Leverett from the team roster — making Brown the projected starting center for the Patriots moving forward.

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.