FOXBORO — Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo informed his team Wednesday morning that Drake Maye will replace Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback for Week 6 against the Texans.

Mayo explained his decision to start Maye during Wednesday morning’s news conference with the media.

“Going forward, Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward,” Mayo said. “He’s been getting better every single week. At the end of training camp, he was trending at a very high rate … It was solely my decision to make this choice.”

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Mayo said that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was “fully on board” with his decision to bench Brissett for Maye. The Patriots are 1-4 and on a four-game losing streak with Brissett as their starting quarterback. Maye has appeared in just one game this season, going 4-of-8 for 22 yards with two carries for 12 yards in relief of Brissett in Week 3 against the Jets.

The decision to start Maye was not expedited, according to Mayo.

“At the end of training camp, he was trending up, and that never slowed down,” Mayo said.

The Patriots face a tenacious Texans defense at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The Patriots are allowing the league’s highest pressure rate, while the Texans’ defense leads the NFL in pressure rate.

“There’s never a perfect time to make a change,” Mayo said. “Every defense … has the ability to rush and get after the quarterback.”

Brissett will maintain his role as a captain while serving as the team’s backup quarterback, according to Mayo.

Mayo said he was “a little bit” disappointed that news broke of Maye starting before he could inform the Patriots.

“Coach said Drake is going to be our quarterback, and we’re behind Drake,” defensive captain Deatrich Wise said Wednesday.

Brissett was averaging just 139.2 passing yards per game with a 58.5% completion rate through five starts. He threw two touchdowns with one interception and one lost fumble to start the 2024 season.