Breaking down Maye’s ‘aggressive’ playmaking on first TD pass

Breaking down Maye’s ‘aggressive’ playmaking on first TD pass originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Drake Maye’s first NFL touchdown pass perfectly summed up why the New England Patriots selected him with the third overall pick in this year’s draft.

With 11 seconds left in the second quarter of Sunday’s game vs. the Houston Texans, Maye tossed a 40-yard dime to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in the end zone. The rookie signal-caller could have settled for a short pass and a field goal, but he elected to show off his big arm and capitalize on Houston’s questionable defensive playcalling.

Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson called Maye a “cool customer” for his presence in the pocket on the big play. He discussed the play in-depth during Monday’s edition of The Breakdown.

“This was an interesting play call for the Texans, I thought, and the Patriots and Drake Maye really took advantage of it,” Johnson said. “The Texans, they line up in Cover 1 coverage right here. Five rushers, five cover guys, one single high safety. The interesting thing is the Patriots line up in trips right here with Ja’Lynn Polk single to the left side. … The Texans for some reason put their safety on this (the left) side. They probably feared that maybe the ball was gonna go to Ja’Lynn Polk because for most of the games this season, all the deep throws – most of them – have gone to Ja’Lynn Polk. They probably figured that was the target.

“The other thing the Texans did, which was unusual in this situation, is they had press coverage. They put their cornerbacks up on the Patriots wide receivers. So that tells the quarterback something’s up. Maybe it’s blitz, man to man. And what he’s seeing right here is all this space left wide open because this safety is cheating over here to help out on Ja’Lynn Polk. And that is something the quarterback I’m guessing saw right away, so they took advantage of it.”

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Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-10-14 23:46:53

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