FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Drake Maye’s first career start can be summed up as a team failure on the New England Patriots’ part and an individual achievement for the rookie quarterback.

Overall, Maye was strong in his starting debut, going 20-of-33 for 243 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions while leading the team with 38 rushing yards on five attempts.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said this week that starting Maye brought a renewed sense of energy to the team in practice.

For a while, the same could be said about the crowd at Gillette Stadium, which was about as gassed up as one could expect with the team trailing the Houston Texans by two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter.

But this was a seemingly cursed game of football for the Patriots, who lost 41-21 in Maye’s first career start. Every time something went right for the offense or defense, something much worse would happen on the other side of the ball.

Like when the defense made a stop and forced the Texans to punt with 14:14 left in the fourth quarter while trailing by 13 points. On the very first offensive play, with most of the crowd on its feet, Maye attempted a screen to running back Antonio Gibson. It was tipped at the line by Texans defensive end Will Anderson, floated up and intercepted by safety Eric Murray off tight end Austin Hooper’s back. Or when the offense showed some life and cut the Texans’ lead to 34-21 on a long catch and run from wide receiver DeMario Douglas only for running back Dameon Pierce to rip off a 54-yard touchdown run.

The game got off to an ominous start for the Patriots with linebacker Sione Takitaki flagged for an illegal formation on the opening kickoff, his first snap in a Pats uniform.

The Patriots’ defense showed little resistance on each of the Texans’ first two drives. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud orchestrated back-to-back touchdown drives. On each series, the Patriots were flagged for pass interference on third down in the red zone, extending the drives and allowing the Texans to score.

Maye’s first drive elicited boos from the Gillette Stadium crowd with two straight runs. Maye’s first pass came on third down with a throwaway.

Maye’s first completion was to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne for three yards. His third attempt was picked off by Texans safety Calen Bullock on a high throw from a clean pocket to Douglas. Maye made the tackle on Bullock’s return.

The Patriots forced the Texans to attempt a 40-yard field goal on Houston’s third drive. Ka’imi Fairborn missed the kick. The Patriots couldn’t do anything on their ensuing drive, going three yards on four plays before punting. Maye was 2-of-4 for 13 yards and an interception with two scrambles for 15 yards on his first two drives.

The Texans looked ready to go up 21-0 after a 59-yard run to open their fourth drive. But Patriots S Marte Mapu deflected a pass intended for tight end Dalton Schultz in the end zone, and cornerback Marcus Jones picked it out of the air for an interception. He returned it to the Patriots’ 28-yard line.

Starting left tackle Vederian Lowe came out of the game and was replaced by Patriots backup guard/jumbo tight end Zachary Thomas. The Patriots couldn’t capitalize on Jones’ interception and punted after picking up just one first down.

The Texans went three-and-out, but the Patriots were flagged for holding on their punt return, giving them the ball on their own 11-yard line. They gained one first down before punting again.

The Patriots allowed one first down on the Texans’ next drive but got home on third down for a sack split between safety Marte Mapu and linebacker Christian Elliss to force a punt.

That gave the Patriots the ball back with 59 seconds left in the half. After a 2-yard run from running back JaMycal Hasty, Maye hit Douglas for a 22-yard catch and run. After an incompletion, pass interference penalty from the Texans and a 7-yard completion to Douglas, Maye hit wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on a 40-yard bomb for his first career touchdown pass. Boutte beat Texans top cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. on the play to cut the lead to 14-7.

The Texans kneeled to drain the clock to end the half.

The Patriots quickly saw the Texans increase their lead to 21-7 to open the half. The Patriots received the kickoff, but refs missed a facemask from the Texans on an opening 2-yard run from Antonio Gibson. Maye was strip-sacked on second down and the Texans recovered on the Patriots’ 10-yard line. Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs immediately beat Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez for a 10-yard touchdown reception.

The Patriots went three-and-out before the Texans increased their lead to 24-3 with a 39-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairburn. On the Patriots’ next play, Maye completed a 7-yard pass to Hooper, who fumbled away to the Texans. The Patriots didn’t allow a first down, but Fairburn increased the Texans’ lead to 27-7 with a 46-yard field goal.

Maye found tight end Hunter Henry for a wide-open 6 yard touchdown to cut the Texans’ lead to 27-14. Maye was a perfect 5-of-5 for 69 yards with the touchdown on the scoring drive. The biggest play was a 30-yard catch and run by Henry on a short pass from Maye.

The Patriots forced another punt, giving them the ball at their own 22-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Maye’s pass was tipped at the line and caught by Texans safety Eric Murray off Hooper’s back. Texans running back Joe Mixon scored on a 20-yard touchdown run on the second play of the drive.

Maye again cut the Texans’ lead to two scores on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Douglas, the wide receiver’s first of his career. The Texans came back and scored on a 54-yard touchdown run from Dameon Pierce with missed tackles from defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy and safety Kyle Dugger. The Patriots picked up one first down before being forced to punt on their ensuing drive.

The Patriots ran out the clock on their final drive after a Texans punt.

Up

QB Drake Maye: Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Was it better than any performance from Jacoby Brissett this season? Absolutely yes.

C Ben Brown: Brown arrived on a red-eye from Las Vegas to New England on Thursday morning. He started and was the Patriots’ only offensive lineman not to allow a pressure, per PFF’s in-game tracking.

WR DeMario Douglas: Douglas picked up his first career touchdown on a 35-yard catch and run on a pass from Maye. Overall, he had six catches on nine targets for 92 yards with the score.

S Marte Mapu: Mapu was called for a ticky-tack defensive pass interference penalty, but he also broke up a pass that led to an interception from Marcus Jones and was in on a sack with linebacker Christian Elliss.

Down

CB Christian Gonzalez: This was probably Gonzalez’s worst game as a pro. He allowed six catches on seven targets for 44 yards with a touchdown, per PFF’s in-game tracking.

RT Demontrey Jacobs: Jacobs allowed two sacks, including a strip-sack that was recovered by the Texans.

TE Austin Hooper: Hooper lost a fumble in the Patriots’ territory, leading to an easy Texans field goal.

CB Jonathan Jones: Jones let up five catches on five targets for 71 yards with a touchdown.

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