In a stunning decision on Sunday, the New England Patriots decided to take out Drake Maye midway through his breakout game against the New York Jets. Joshua Dobbs came in.
This comes as Maye had completed 19 of his 21 attempts for a mammoth 256 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran three times for 22 yards. At the time of writing this story, the Patriots led 42-3.
Maye’s final pass was his fifth touchdown, a 10-yarder to Efton Chism III.
Why Drake Maye was subbed out
Well, it’s more or less clear: New England had already bagged the game. It was the third quarter and Mike Vrabel just wanted to let his backup QB Dobbs have some gametime before the team goes into the postseason.
The same was the case against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. Dobbs was called on the field after New England had secured a blowout win. The veteran had managed to connect with DeMario Douglas for a first down.
“I’ve enjoyed being around him,” Mike Vrabel said back then.“He’s a professional, he understands, I think he’s good for the quarterback, good for Drake (Maye), good for Tommy (DeVito), and he’s prepared. As much as we’ve talked about those practices on Thursday or our red zone on Friday, that those are competitive reps for everybody, I think that those have been great reps for Josh and Tommy to get during the season.”
New England Patriots depth chart
Offense
WR: Stefon Diggs; Mack Hollins
LT: Vederian Lowe; Thayer Munford Jr.
LG: Jared Wilson; Caedan Wallace
C: Garrett Bradbury; Ben Brown
RG: Mike Onwenu; Caedan Wallace
RT: Morgan Moses; Marcus Bryant
TE: Hunter Henry; Austin Hooper; CJ Dippre
WR: DeMario Douglas; Kyle Williams
WR: Kayshon Boutte; Efton Chism III
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson; TreVeyon Henderson; Terrell Jennings
FB: Jack Westover
QB: Drake Maye; Joshua Dobbs; Tommy DeVito
Defense
OLB: K’Lavon Chaisson; Elijah Ponder
DT: Christian Barmore; Joshua Farmer
NT: Khyiris Tonga; Eric Gregory
DT: Cory Durden
OLB: Harold Landry III; Anfernee Jennings; Bradyn Swinson
LB: Robert Spillane; Marte Mapu; Jahlani Tavai
LB: Christian Elliss; Jack Gibbens; Chad Muma
CB: Carlton Davis III; Charles Woods; Miles Battle
S: Jaylinn Hawkins; Dell Pettus; Brenden Schooler
S: Craig Woodson; Dell Pettus
CB: Christian Gonzalez; Marcus Jones
Special Teams
K: Andy Borregales
P: Bryce Baringer
H: Bryce Baringer
PR: Marcus Jones; Efton Chism III
KR: Kyle Williams; Terrell Jennings; Efton Chism III
LS: Julian Ashby