Former QB rips Patriots over Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett decision

With the New England Patriots at 1-4 and struggling to produce positive results on offense, many understood why first-year head coach Jerod Mayo reportedly decided to replace veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett in the lineup with rookie Drake Maye for this coming Sunday's home game versus the 4-1 Houston Texans.

Former NFL signal-caller and analyst Dan Orlovsky is not among them.

"This is a bad decision in New England," Orlovsky said during Tuesday's edition of the ESPN "NFL Live" program, per Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. "One, their offensive line is the worst pass-blocking offensive line in the NFL. ...Jacoby Brissett, who has been their starting quarterback, he has been pressured on 47% of his dropback passes. That 47% is the highest number for a quarterback since 2006."

Before Tuesday's news broke, The Athletic's Chad Graff shared similar concerns about Maye playing behind a woeful line. Graff noted that center Nick Leverett, playing in place of the injured David Andrews, allowed a whopping 10 pressures in New England's 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins this past Sunday.

With that said, it was suggested last week that New England's locker room was "teetering on mutiny" and that Mayo would have to make a move soon to avoid losing other players on the roster. According to ESPN stats , the Patriots ended Week 5 of the season ranked last in the NFL with an average of 119.4 passing yards per game and 31st with an average of 12.4 points scored per contest.

"It's a bottom probably five or six group wide-receiver-wise when it comes to getting open," Orlovsky added about New England's lackluster offense. "There's a couple things I always say young quarterbacks need to go play well and survive. They need to have a really good scheme and play-caller. ... Really good offensive line, really good skill players. Again, New England has at least two of those three missing. This is not the right choice."

Orlovsky may ultimately be proven right, as the Houston defense could overwhelm Maye en route to giving the 22-year-old multiple "welcome to the NFL" moments at Gillette Stadium. If, however, Maye looks like the real deal this Sunday, outsiders will wonder why Mayo didn't trust the third overall pick of the 2024 draft to be the club's QB1 coming off impressive preseason performances.

As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Patriots as seven-point underdogs against the Texans.