Our offseason countdown continues with the No. 4 Best Patriots Moment of 2024.
As we creep into mid-June and the dead time on the NFL calendar creeps along, we’re rounding the corner of our countdown of the Top 10 New England Patriots Moments of 2024.
The list so far:
10. Jerod Mayo out, Mike Vrabel in.
9. Drake Maye hits Austin Hooper for a 38-yard TD on 4th-and-15 against the Miami Dolphins.
8. Joey Slye nails a 63-yard field goal to close out the half against the San Francisco 49ers.
7. A free play gets DeMario Douglas into the end zone vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
6. A nine-sack day helps list the Patriots over the Chicago Bears.
5. A late 70-yard touchdown drive hands the Jets their fifth consecutive loss, and the Patriots their second win.
4. The Patriots stun the Bengals on opening weekend.
Welcome to the Top 3, which to me represent the only things really worth remembering about last season. Each of these three moments represents a nod towards the future, the hope and optimism that accompanied brief moments of brilliance amid a raging sea of ineptitude.
3. Drake Maye’s throws his first touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte against the Texans.
October 13, 2024. Week 6 of the NFL season. The 1-4 Patriots, with the season more or less over, turned to their rookie quarterback to make his first ever NFL start. The Jacoby Brissett era was over. The Drake Maye era began.
Patriots fans were beyond ready for the change. Brissett was always meant to be nothing more than a stopgap, a seasoned veteran who knew the ins and outs of playing in the NFL to serve as a mentor to Maye and give him a little more time to learn the playbook and adjust to the speed of the pro game. But with Brissett injured the week before, coupled with overall poor play, it was time for a switch.
At 1-4, any slim chance the Patriots might have had to make the playoffs was more or less gone. The shine of that Week 1 win had long since faded, and it was back to seeing who on the 2024 roster would be part of the rebuild and what pockets of positivity we could all take into next year.
The game against the visiting Houston Texans itself was nothing short of embarrassing, a 41-21 that wasn’t even that close. Houston completely mollywhopped the Patriots on the ground to the tune of 192 rushing yards, including two separate 50+ yard TD runs. But nobody really cared about that. This game was all about Drake Maye and what he’d be doing with his first-ever start.
Maye’s performance in this game was, in many ways. a microcosm of his whole rookie campaign: expected growing pains coupled with flashes of incredible athleticism and wise-beyond-his-years decision making. He’d follow up a poor decision with a brilliant one, miss one throw only to nail another. Make a great play with his legs, take a needless sack. In other words, exactly what you’d expect from a rookie.
But the Legend of Drake Maye began with just under a minute left to play in this game, when the Texans punted to the New England 16-yard line and Maye marched the offense out with 84 yards separating him from a first-half shutout. What happened next will be the subject of debate for minutes to come, I’m sure.
The first play of that drive was a two-yard dive by JaMycal Hasty, and nobody seemed to have any interest in hurrying to the line. The clock continued to tick. The Patriots were completely content to go into the locker room down two scores, it seemed.
But the, with 28 seconds left, Maye came alive, hitting DeMario Douglas for 22 yards. Douglas was able to draw a DPI call a few snaps later, and then Maye hit Douglas again for seven more. The Patriots were on the Houston 40 yard line with 16 seconds left in the half. Five or six more yards, and Joey Slye could come out for a long field goal attempt.
Screw that.
In what looked like nothing more than a simple Go Route, Drake Maye launched an absolute DIME forty yards downfield, hitting Boutte in stride right at the very edge of the sideline. Boutte eventually got a step on his man, but at the time of release, he was still covered. No matter, though; Boutte came down with the pass, and it was suddenly a one score game.
Is it wild, and kind of sad, that the third-best play of last year was a touchdown pass in a blowout loss? Absolutely. No way to deny that. But on a different level, this Texans game represented the start of the season for the Patriots. It was the beginning of the Drake Maye Era in Foxborough, and it was the first time that we got to see firsthand what he was capable of. It was a beautiful read and throw, and it capped off a fast scoring drive before the half.
Maye would finish his first start 20 of 33 for 243 yards, three TDs. and two picks, but ultimately none of that mattered. Plays like this one, plays that would continue to show themselves for the rest of the season, was the only reason a lot of Patriots fans even continued to tune in during the 2024 league year. If Maye can build on plays like these, Maye to Boutte may one day find a place next to Brady to Glenn on Patriots Trivia boards. And that’s the optimism that puts this play up here at Number 3.
Check out the play here.