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New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye made his first career start against the Houston Texans on Sunday, and while the Patriots lost 41-21, the rookie showed considerable promise.

Maye went 20-for-33 with 243 yards, three touchdowns and a couple of interceptions and showed more life in one game than Jacoby Brissett had shown all season. He also achieved another major feat for New England: he completed the longest touchdown pass through the air the franchise has seen since Mac Jones in December 2022.

Maye threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in the second quarter, marking the first touchdown of Maye’s NFL career.

The ball traveled 51.7 yards through the air and was the furthest any Pats quarterback has thrown the ball for a score in quite some time. Here’s another little nugget about Maye’s performance: he threw more touchdown passes in his debut than Brissett threw all season (two).

The Patriots faced quite a lot of resistance from fans and media pundits for their decision to bench Brissett in favor of Maye, who the franchise took with the third overall pick of the NFL Draft.

Many were worried just how Maye would handle himself behind New England’s porous offensive line and with very limited weapons. While Maye certainly took his fair share of bumps and bruises along the way, his first start was actually solid, all things considered.

At the very least, Maye displayed that he can throw the ball down the field, which is something that the Pats were simply unable to do with Brissett under center. Now, the Patriots just need to go out and get Maye some supporting talent.

New England fell to 1-5 with the loss and will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in London next Sunday.