FOXBORO — Moments after getting drubbed by the Texans defense in his starting debut, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye beat himself up even further after the 41-21 loss.

Maye was hard on himself, shouldering the blame for putting his defense in bad spots with four turnovers as the Patriots neared the red zone.

“With how good our defense is, that’s the last thing we can do,” Maye said. “We can’t — when the ball is in the red zone, giving the other team the ball in the red zone just makes it hard on them. It starts with me, and I feel like I wish I could have some throws back.”

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Head coach Jerod Mayo was there to lift Maye up after the game, however. And while it’s great for Maye to be tough on himself, Mayo was more accurate in his portrayal of the rookie’s performance. For a rookie debut, Maye was damn good, going 20-of-33 for 243 yards with three touchdowns, two touchdowns, a lost fumble and five rushing attempts for 38 yards.

“I thought he showed a lot of poise. I thought he went out there and controlled the huddle, got those guys out of the huddle and once again, made some plays,” Mayo said. “It’s definitely encouraging. From a team-wide perspective right now, we let him down. It was his first game, and I feel like I let him down. I’m sure all the coaches feel like we let everyone down. We’ve just got to be better.”

Mayo later clarified that answer when asked follow up about it, likely doing some damage control to protect much-maligned offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt by saying, “Yeah, not really the coaching staff. Look, we feel like crap right now, and I would say just for a rookie quarterback to go out there and do some good things, do some good things – I just felt like we could have did a better job supporting him.”

Maye’s first interception was high to DeMario Douglas and easily picked off by Texans safety Calen Bullock on the Patriots’ second drive. He was strip-sacked to begin the second half when Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter beat right tackle Demontrey Jacobs. The third turnover came when Patriots tight end Austin Hooper lost a fumble on a 7-yard completion from Maye. Maye threw another interception early in the fourth quarter when a pass was tipped at the line and caught by safety Eric Murray off Hooper’s back.

Maye also gave the Patriots an offensive jolt that they didn’t receive over the first five weeks of the season. He set season-highs for Patriots quarterbacks in passing yards and touchdowns. In a game when the Patriots weren’t plagued by so many mistakes, Maye would at least keep it close with a performance like Sunday’s.

“Yeah, and look, we fully anticipate or expect him to be better going forward,” Mayo said. “It was his first start. Obviously here at home there was a lot of expectations on him. I thought he handled it well. Got to build on it.”

Maye’s best throw was a 40-yard bomb to Kayshon Boutte for a touchdown to cap off a two-minute drill to end the first half.

.@DrakeMaye2‘s first @NFL TD is to @KayshonBoutte1

: CBS pic.twitter.com/Oi7BpFvq6H

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 13, 2024

“Pressed up, I think we’ve got to give gas, give him a chance,” Maye said. “That was kind of my thought process: ‘give him a chance.’ I thought kind of the Texans were kind of squatting us a little bit. They came out and challenged us and played in man so tried to let one ride and give Boutte a chance. He made a nice play, and it was pretty cool. I think both of our first touchdowns, so pretty cool moment. I felt like in this group we can push the ball down the field and make plays in the passing game, so we’ve just got to keep repping it and see what you like and I’ve got to make the throws, that’s the bottom line. Make better throws.”

Maye’s second touchdown pass went to a wide-open Hunter Henry on a 6-yard completion. His third and final touchdown pass hit wide receiver DeMario Douglas in stride on a slant.

.@popshotta3 goes 3⃣5⃣ yards for his first NFL TD!

: CBS pic.twitter.com/NZt5GxcULw

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 13, 2024

It was also Douglas’ first career touchdown reception.

“His reads were good all day,” Mayo said of Maye. “I thought his reads were good. I’ll watch the film, obviously, but I thought he did a good job.”

The rookie quarterback can’t keep turning the ball over three times per game, but the Patriots’ passing attack was anemic under Jacoby Brissett. Even if the Patriots don’t win, Maye gives the team a glimmer of hope for the future when the rest of the roster is talented enough to prop him up better.