FOXBOROUGH – After an appetizer in the preseason opener, the Patriots served the Eagles a real portion of Drake Maye.
The No. 3 pick played two full quarters on Thursday and has settled in quite well. Maye ran for his first (preseason) NFL touchdown, led two scoring drives and was a bright spot in New England’s 14-13 loss to Philadelphia.
Here are seven takeaways from a highly anticipated night at Gillette Stadium:
1. Maye gets a real run – and runs with it
After playing six snaps in the opening game, Maye got an extended stint on Thursday and made the most of it. The freshman entered the game in the second quarter with most of the starting offensive line intact — only David Andrews was a substitute — and promptly led a field goal drive. He didn’t run for his life like he did during Tuesday’s joint practice with the substitutes.
Maye followed by reaching the end zone on New England’s next possession. Facing a third down at Philadelphia’s 4-yard line, the 21-year-old quarterback rolled right on a red-zone read, jammed the ball in and glided unchallenged into the end zone. The Patriots could really use his athleticism.
Overall, Maye completed 6 of 11 passes for 47 yards and carried the ball four times for 15 yards; he was better than his numbers suggested. The rookie also took his first welcome hit in the NFL when Vederian Lowe lost sight of Nolan Smith, who then ran over the quarterback. Maye bounced right back up, so it was a productive night on all fronts.
2. Bad evening for Brissett
Jacoby Brissett, touted as a seasoned veteran, was the quarterback who made a rookie mistake on Thursday. Facing a 3rd-and-3 at Philadelphia’s 8-yard line, Brissett had no first down and so decided to force the ball late to Austin Hooper, who was covered by Avonte Maddox. The Eagles cornerback intercepted the pass in the end zone and returned it 48 yards.
Brissett had to either let the pass whiz out of the back of the end zone or simply take a sack; it was a third down in the red zone. By forcing the pass in Hooper’s direction, the veteran scored points. He finished the night 3 of 7 passing for 17 yards, and while it was a small sample size, it was probably Brissett’s worst performance of the summer. He also missed Ja’Lynn Polk on a long ball and threw a dangerous pass to Pop Douglas that was not completed.
3. Life after Judon begins
With Matthew Judon now an Atlanta Falcon, the Patriots started Keion White and Anfernee Jennings as their starters on Thursday night. Later in the series, Deatrich Wise and Joshua Uche came in as backups. It couldn’t have gone much better. Uche recorded a sack on Kenny Pickett late in the first quarter, while White and Wise each added one in the second quarter. While none of them can boast Judon’s four-time Pro Bowl pedigree, the Patriots could certainly do worse with those four players.
4. Tough night for Baker
Rookie wideout Javon Baker caught a lot of passes but had trouble converting them. In the third quarter, Maye threw a beautiful deep ball to the basket, but it bounced off Baker’s gloves and was incomplete. The fourth-round pick jumped up and slapped his hands in frustration. Baker was also forced out of bounds on another sideline throw that came off his hands and finished the game with one catch for 12 yards on four passes.
5. Problems with the running game
New England fielded the same offensive line — from left to right: Lowe, Sidy Sow, Andrews, Mike Onwenu and Chuks Okorafor — and that group couldn’t generate much offense on the ground. Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson, the top two running backs in the rankings, combined for 26 yards on 10 carries. Jerod Mayo may want the Patriots to be a running team, but saying that and executing the vision are two different things.
6. Slye is making strong progress
Joey Slye was tasked with two field goals and made both, a 51-yard and a 45-yard kick. He has been kicking really well since camp got underway. His opponent Chad Ryland also made his only kick of the night, an extra point after Maye’s touchdown run.
7. Wait, what’s going on here?
The most puzzling decision of the night came on the last play of the first quarter. With the Eagles in punt formation, Pop Douglas was sent way back – and he actually returned the kick. It would be one thing if Douglas had been instructed to just make a fair catch, but he didn’t.
Putting the undersized receiver in that position in a preseason game was like playing with fire. Douglas was injured during a punt at the Meadowlands last November. He was injured again this August.
Why take that risk in a game that means nothing?
