by With a victory over the Bills and a resolution to the dilemma of when a win is truly a loss, the 2024 Patriots season came to an end seven months, give or take a week. Nothing from that year-long homage to incompetence is particularly worth revisiting.
One player stands out as the positive legacy of a season best forgotten, at least in terms of the offense: rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
The No. 3 overall choice in the 2024 draft was surprisingly erratic after taking over the starting position against the Texans in Week 6. He threw 10 interceptions in 12 starts, which would be great if it were 1976, but not so great in this age of extremely effective passing attacks. He fumbled twice as well.
After three seasons of slowly discovering that Mac Jones was not the next Chad Pennington but rather a born backup whose leadership abilities were as uninspired as his wet-noodle arm, Maye was all Patriots fans could have wished for, despite his occasional carelessness with the football.
Indeed, Maye was frequently a lot of fun and a little bit irresponsible (again, as predicted). His mobility (he ran for 421 yards and is currently ninth all-time in running among Patriots quarterbacks) and arm strength (especially his touch on deep throws) indicate that he has the potential to become The Franchise Quarterback. The fact that Jones’ personality was as uninteresting as an Eggo waffle without syrup contrasted with Maye’s easygoing, natural charm, which didn’t hurt.
Two Maye highlights that make you say, “Oh, this kid hasgotit,” immediately spring to mind when you try to evoke good memories from the previous season. I believe we can all agree that a complete NFL Films recap of the 24 Patriots would last about as long as a commercial break between innings on a NESN Red Sox broadcast.
The first occurred during Maye’s fourth start for the Patriots in their Week 9 loss to the Titans, and I’m sure you’re already mentally reliving it. Even though you are aware of the situation and the beats, let’s restate.
Maye dropped back, patted the ball, scanned the field, scanned some more, bounced left, rolled right, scanned, scrambled left, eluded one Titan who was determined to end the game immediately, and just as he was being crunched by two others, threw the ball across his body to Rhamondre Stevenson for a touchdown, forcing overtime. The Patriots were behind 17-10 with no time remaining.
MAGICCCCCCCCC DRAKE MAYE!!!!!
www.twitter.com/UvIB3dRi8k FOXpic
November 3, 2024, New England Patriots (@Patriots)
In the grand scheme of things, that play made the Patriots’ loss seem like a victory. Maye’s skill was clear, and now he was beginning to exhibit the kind of moxie that all successful quarterbacks must possess.
During the Patriots’ Week 15 loss to the Cardinals, DeMario Douglas caught a perfectly timed but almost careless shovel pass for a touchdown, demonstrating that coolness as well.
An incredible opportunity to pop!@DrakeMaye2|#ProBowlVote
This is CBSpic’s Twitter account: 0TRNczRN4T
December 15, 2024, New England Patriots (@Patriots)
Highlights are obviously not the same as accomplishments. Only one of Maye’s starts was successful for the Patriots. His ability to appear capable and composed with minimal assistance around him was, in my opinion, his greatest accomplishment.
Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry were dependable tight ends. Receivers Douglas and Kayshon Boutte showed promise at times. Antonio Gibson put his all into it. Apart from that, though? Let’s check. The best running back kept dropping the ball on the ground, the head coach wasn’t prepared for the position, the coaching staff was primarily composed of rookies and retreads who weren’t equipped for their roles, and the offensive line was overwhelmed like a busted dam.
I’m not claiming that Maye found himself in the most dire circumstance in recent NFL history. Perhaps forever, that title goes to David Carr, who was the first pick in the 2002 draft but was broken by the expansion Texans. A man will change if he is fired 76 times in a season.
I’m claiming that Maye’s severe deficits from the previous season were likely understated. And it will be interesting to observe how much progress he can make now that he has a solid support network.
The largest change in the Patriots’ head coaching since Bill Parcells took over for Dick McPherson was the move from Mayo to Mike Vrabel. (You know what, too? I’ll listen to your thoughts on the significant improvement from Pete Carroll, who is now a great coach but was far too happy, joyful, and joyful during his three progressively worse years here, to Bill Belichick.)
Vrabel’s staff is deep, experienced, and well-rounded. Among them is offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who is praised here for his championship-winning work with Tom Brady but also got the most out of rookie Eggo Jones in 2020 and Cam Newton and his shot shoulder in 2020.
Maye’s offensive supporting cast is still developing and will need additional assistance in the upcoming years. The talent level has been elevated from dreadful to at least promising with rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson on the left side of the line, supercharged second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson in the backfield, veteran Stefon Diggs, and third-round pick Kyle Williams joining the receiving corps.
It’s evident that Vrabel has been hard on Maye during the preseason, reprimanding him for his early mistake in the opener against the Commanders and being direct when Maye’s performance in practice didn’t meet his expectations.
According to early returns, Drew Bledsoe’s displeasure with Parcells was ultimately caused by a sometimes sarcastic attitude that was conveyed constructively and frequently with comedy, rather than by Parcells’ unrelentingly sarcastic style.
Mayo and Alex Van Pelt were unable to coach Maye the way Vrabel and McDaniels could. Maye needs one more thing to become the quarterback that his skill, personality, and memorable season’s highlights indicate he can be.
Boston.com’s sports columnist is Chad Finn. For the last four years, he has been chosen as Boston’s Favorite Sports Writer by the Channel Media Market and Research Poll. In addition, he contributes to Globe Magazine and writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe.
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