Maye and the Patriots offense should focus on these areas in the final five games originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The catastrophic situation of the New England Patriots 34-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 12 guaranteed that they would finish with a losing record for the third consecutive season.
The Patriots are 3-9 and sits at the bottom of the AFC East standings. Despite the setbacks from Sunday’s victory and the fact that the Patriots have no chance of making the playoffs, the final five games of the regular season are still important to the team’s future.
Every game is a chance for rookie quarterback Drake Maye to develop his exciting skills and gain valuable experience. Maye has only started seven games, but he has already shown plenty of signs that he is capable of becoming a franchise quarterback in the near future.
The No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has completed 65.6 percent of his pass attempts for 1,458 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also used his athleticism to good effect, totaling 286 yards (8.7 per carry) and one rushing touchdown.
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What does Maye and the offense as a whole need to work on for the rest of the season?
Former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer highlighted a few key areas during Wednesday night’s episode of NBC Sports Boston. The game plan.
One of them was simply: do the little things right. Specifically, remove pre-snap penalties. It’s incredibly difficult to beat any team in the NFL when you have so many self-inflicted wounds, such as penalties and turnovers. For example, the Patriots accepted 10 penalties for 75 yards, in addition to two turnovers, during their loss to the Dolphins.
“I think the easiest thing to do is do the little things right. No pre-snap penalties,” Hoyer said. “Don’t put yourself in bad situations, because at the end of the day, the one that makes it the hardest is the quarterback, because when you’re first and 15, second and 20, whatever it is, the quarterback -back, for the most part I’m going to have to make some plays to get you out of this hole.
“Let’s just see what they do when they run the ball. What can you do to get the offense going? Well, let’s run the ball, let’s kind of stay on track, keep moving forward and then play football without turnover.”
Not all of the turnovers are Maye’s fault. For example, some of his lost fumbles were the result of him being crushed because the offensive line failed to block the pass. But he has 12 turnovers – seven interceptions, five fumbles – in seven starts, and that number is way too high.
The Patriots are not a powerful team offensively and as such their margin for error is very slim. This makes every possession vital and also helps explain why turnovers hurt this team so much.
“Look, as a quarterback, you don’t try to turn the ball over, but you don’t want to come into the game and say, okay, I’m going to protect the ball today, because then you play timid .” Hoyer said.
“I think it just comes with experience and Maye understanding when I can take a chance, when I can’t take a chance, how to keep the ball in the pocket, things like that. But doing the little things will be fine a long way to go until next year.”
Another goal for the Patriots over their final five games should be to evaluate each player and determine which guys will make up the core moving forward. This is especially true for rookies, including receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. Polk had one or zero catches in seven straight games and struggled with penalties. Baker barely earned playing time at wide receiver. The Patriots need to find out what they have in these players so the front office can make informed decisions this offseason.
“One big thing will be: You’ll have to evaluate some of these kids because you need to know if they’re going to be on the team next year,” Hoyer said.
“So it’s Ja’Lynn Polk, Kayshon Boutte, Javon Baker. At some point you’re going to have to say — okay, put them out there and sink or swim, because your big offseason plans will be , who are you circling Maye to enable her to succeed in the future?
The Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in a winnable Week 13 game before earning a much-deserved bye into Week 14. They finish the season with two games against the Buffalo Bills, as well as matchups against the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Chargers.
These opponents give the Patriots the second-toughest remaining schedule in the league. It’s a tough road to the finish line. But these are important games for the franchise. If Maye makes positive progress during these six weeks, the team will greatly benefit in the short and long term.
