Patriots vs. Texans snap counts: Drake Maye's supporting cast in flux

The New England Patriots turned the keys to their offense over to Drake Maye ahead of their Week 6 matchup against the Houston Texans. While the unit did show some improvement behind the rookie quarterback, the first-time starter also had his fair share of learning opportunities.

Some of those had to do with himself, and his lack of experience against NFL-level opponents. Part of it also was the supporting cast around him, which — as a look at the snap count numbers from the game illustrates — was very much in flux on Sunday.

Once again, the offensive line was the biggest area of concern. While the right side went wire-to-wire, with center Ben Brown, right guard Michael Onwenu, and right tackle Demontrey Jacobs playing all 66 snaps, the left side suffered some more injuries: left tackle Vederian Lowe and left guard Michael Jordan left the game after 11 and 58 snaps, respectively.

A lack of stability also was present at running back. With Rhamondre Stevenson out due to a foot injury, the team split reps between Antonio Gibson, JaMycal Hasty and Terrell Jennings. The group as a whole never developed much of a rhythm, leading the ground game having its worst day of the season thus far.

This, in turn, led to head coach Jerod Mayo lament the support the team was able to give Maye in his starting debut.

“We’ve got to do a better job supporting a rookie quarterback,” he said on Monday. “Yesterday, the run game, something that we’ve been good at for the majority of the year, was non-existent. We’ve just got to get back to the basics.”

With that said, here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 41-21 loss to the Texans.

Total snaps: 66 | Time on the field: 27:42

QB Drake Maye* (66; 100%), C Ben Brown* (66; 100%), RG Michael Onwenu* (66; 100%), RT Demontrey Jacobs* (66; 100%), LG Michael Jordan* (58; 88%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (55; 83%), LT Zachary Thomas (55; 83%), TE Hunter Henry* (47; 71%), WR Ja’Lynn Polk* (43; 65%), WR DeMario Douglas* (41; 62%), TE Austin Hooper (37; 56%), WR Kendrick Bourne (34; 52%), RB Antonio Gibson* (32; 48%), RB JaMycal Hasty (21; 32%), RB Terrell Jennings (14; 21%), LT Vederian Lowe* (11; 17%), LG Sidy Sow (8; 12%), TE Jaheim Bell (6; 9%)

*denotes starter

Change also was the theme at wide receiver. Whereas Ja’Lynn Polk seemed to have established himself as the No. 1 option, that role went to Kayshon Boutte on Sunday: the sophomore played a career-high 83 percent of offensive snaps, and finished with three catches for 59 yards including both his and Drake Maye’s first touchdown.

Polk, meanwhile, played a reduced role compared to the last two weeks. At the moment, the team therefore appears to be trending toward a top three consisting of Boutte, DeMario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne.

Total snaps: 66 | Time on the field: 29:53

Kyle Dugger* (66; 100%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (65; 98%), S Marte Mapu* (58; 88%), LB/ED Jahlani Tavai* (52; 79%), DE/ED Keion White* (49; 74%), CB Jonathan Jones* (49; 74%), ED Anfernee Jennings* (48; 73%), DT Daniel Ekuale* (47; 71%), DT Davon Godchaux* (45; 68%), DE/ED Deatrich Wise Jr.* (40; 61%), LB Raekwon McMillan* (36; 55%), CB Marcus Jones (30; 45%), S Jaylinn Hawkins (29; 44%), LB Christian Elliss (23; 35%), DT Jaquelin Roy (22; 33%), ED Joshua Uche (20; 30%), CB Marco Wilson (17; 26%), DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (16; 24%), LB Sione Takitaki (9; 14%), S Dell Pettus (5; 8%)

*denotes starter

With Jabrill Peppers’ future in question following a recent arrest, the Patriots have turned to Marte Mapu as a replacement. The second-year man continued playing a high number of snaps in Week 6: even with Kyle Dugger returning from a one-week injury absence to play all 66 snaps, Mapu was on the field for 58 as the No. 2 safety.

While Mapu has seen a heavy workload right out of the gate after returning from injured reserve last Sunday, the team is easing linebacker Sione Takitaki back into the mix. Making his Patriots debut after a five-week stint on the reserve PUP list, he played nine snaps on defense plus 13 more in the kicking game (more on those in a second).

Elsewhere, the Patriots reduced the roles of two recent starter-level players: Raekwon McMillan and Jaylinn Hawkins saw their playing time plummet compared to Week 5. Changes in available personnel may have contributed to that, especially in Hawkins’ case, but performance issues likely also played a part; McMillan looked suspect in the run game, and was one of the players to blame for a 59-yard Joe Mixon run in the second quarter.

Total snaps: 33 | Time on the field: 2:25

LB Raekwon McMillan (30; 91%), LB Christian Elliss (30; 91%), S Brenden Schooler (30; 91%), CB Marcellas Dial Jr. (30; 91%), S Dell Pettus (23; 70%), LB Curtis Jacobs (20; 61%), S Jaylinn Hawkins (18; 55%), LB Jahlani Tavai (14; 42%), LB Sione Takitaki (13; 39%), RB/KR JaMycal Hasty (12; 36%), DE Keion White (11; 33%), S Marte Mapu (10; 30%), TE Jaheim Bell (9; 27%), DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (9; 27%), P/H Bryce Baringer (9; 27%), LS Tucker Addington (9; 27%), WR Kayshon Boutte (8; 24%), WR Ja’Lynn Polk (8; 24%), DT Daniel Ekuale (8; 24%), DT Davon Godchaux (8; 24%), CB Isaiah Bolden (8; 24%), RB Terrell Jennings (7; 21%), K Joey Slye (7; 21%), TE Austin Hooper (6; 18%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (4; 12%), CB Marco Wilson (4; 12%), C Ben Brown (3; 9%), OT Demontrey Jacobs (3; 9%), G Michael Onwenu (3; 9%), OT Zachary Thomas (3; 9%), G Sidy Sow (3; 9%), G Michael Jordan (2; 6%), ED Anfernee Jennings (1; 3%)

The Patriots used a familiar casts of characters in the kicking game, with seven players being employed exclusively in the game’s third phase. Among them was long snapper Tucker Addington, who was elevated from the practice squad to replace regular starter Joe Cardona.

As for the aforementioned Sione Takitaki, Sunday’s game might have given us a glimpse into how New England will opt to use him on special teams. The offseason acquisition played on the punt and kickoff return units as well as the kickoff coverage team.

WR K.J. Osborn, QB Jacoby Brissett, OL Nick Leverett

The Patriots did make K.J. Osborn active over healthy scratches Javon Baker and Tyquan Thornton, but decided against using the veteran wide receiver. The same was true for backup QB Jacoby Brissett and interior offensive lineman Nick Leverett.

Leverett, of course, has since been released. The veteran went from starting in Week 5, to emergency player in Week 6, to off the roster less than 24 hours later.

WR Javon Baker, WR Tyquan Thornton, QB Joe Milton, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, LS Joe Cardona, OL Layden Robinson, DT Eric Johnson

As noted above, the Patriots deactivated two of their young wide receivers as healthy scratches. In addition, they had to take on the Texans without two core players in Rhamondre Stevenson (foot) and Joe Cardona (calf/personal).