FOXBORO — Drake Maye was impressive in his second warm-up game on Thursday night, which makes Patriots fans look to the future with optimism. But starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett had problems again, which makes everyone worry about the present.
New England’s problems go far beyond the team’s projected starter, but Brissett has done nothing this preseason to give the Patriots’ top offense hope. He’s been on the field for four series this preseason, and three of them have ended in three-and-outs.
The other series? That one ended with Brissett making a Mac Jones-style decision and throwing a terrible interception in the end zone. That was his preferably Series of the preseason so far.
The Patriots’ problems once again extend well beyond the quarterback, but with Maye playing well on his long run Thursday night, it should make for an interesting final week of the preseason in New England.
Here are the takeaways from The 14:13 defeat against the Eagles on Thursday evening.
Jacoby Brissett has to be much better
The veteran’s first drive ended when he threw tight end Austin Hooper short on a third-and-5 attempt. Brissett had more time on the play than he thought, but forced Hooper to make a flat pass.
He looked much better on his second drive, but then made a terrible decision on third-and-3 when everyone was covered and he forced Hooper to throw in the end zone. Avonte Maddox effortlessly jumped the route and returned the ball 47 yards to set up a field goal for Philadelphia.
That’s not the kind of throw you’d expect from a guy who’s been touted all summer as a smart and accomplished quarterback.
Brissett and the top offense failed to get three-and-outs on their third series. Brissett felt the pressure on a third-and-seven and overdid it a bit with a dangerous throw to DeMario Douglas over the middle.
We’ll see if Brissett plays in the final preseason game against the Commanders, but it looks like the veteran could use some work in Alex Van Pelt’s offense.
Drake Maye is making progress
After playing just one series last week, Maye played the second and third quarters for the Patriots on Thursday night. He looked solid during his two series in the first half, and both ended in points for the Patriots. His second drive ended with Maye catching him alone for a four-yard touchdown.
Maye got going behind New England’s top offensive line and never looked nervous, although he did feel some pressure on some plays. He was quick with his assessments and took what the defense gave him, dropping the ball several times or throwing it away instead of forcing it forward.
Maye threw a beautiful deep ball to Javon Baker after making a skilled play in the pocket, but the rookie receiver couldn’t catch the ball. It would have been the most important play of the game.
Maye was 6-for-11 for 47 yards, plus 10 yards and his touchdown on two scrambles. He may not start ahead of Brissett in Week 1, but he at least earned an extended stint with New England’s top offense this week in practice and against the Commanders to close out the preseason.
Patriots continue to put pressure on defense
The Patriots have traded Matthew Judon, their best pass rusher and best player overall, but the defense continues to cause problems for opposing quarterbacks.
As a caveat: The Eagles did not use most of their regular players on Thursday night. But it is likely that no one would stop Keion White in this game. Max Scharping had no chance of stopping the human wrecking ball:
That was one of five sacks by the Patriots defense. The others were by Josh Uche, Isaiah Bolden, Oshane Ximines and Deatrich Wise. Ximines caused trouble for the second week in a row and should get plenty of opportunities to attack the quarterback in the coming weeks.
The Pats’ defense was also outstanding on late downs Thursday night. The Eagles converted just five of their 16 third downs and went 0 of 3 on fourth down.
Javon Baker’s drop on an indispensable deep ball
Maye and Baker nearly hit a home run on a deep ball downfield. Maye made a beautiful pass to his right that he dropped right into Baker’s basket, but the receiver dropped him as he reached the field.
This is one thing that Baker has He finished the game with just one catch on his four targets, although that catch was a solid 12-yard catch from Maye on a third-and-5 attempt.
Only one penalty for the Patriots
Vederian Lowe had a false start before Maye’s second snap, but that was the only time the Patriots were penalized on the night. At least the line was much more disciplined than last week against the Panthers.
Unfortunately for Lowe, he also had a missed block that led to Maye being sacked on his final play of the night. And that wasn’t the only problem the offensive line had against Philly.
Bad snaps were a problem for centers not named David Andrews
After Andrews checked out, Nick Leverett and Liam Fornadel had four bad snaps for the rest of the game.
Fornadel had the worst performance of the four, narrowly missing the final offensive snap of the night to Bailey Zappe, but the Eagles recovered it, destroying any chance of a Patriots comeback.
The Pats must protect Andrews at all costs.
Joey Slye converted both field goal attempts for the Patriots
Slye made both field goals on Thursday night, including one from 45 yards. He is now 3 of 3 this preseason, while Chad Ryland has yet to attempt a field goal.
Ryland was again limited to the task of extra point shooter, and he took advantage of his only opportunity.
Jerod Mayo wins his first challenge
Mayo lost his first game, which he said was “kind of bad,” but on Thursday night he won his first duel.
Mayo threw the red flag after the Eagles were given an extremely generous berth on a fourth-and-1 by Lew Nichols and the decision was overturned on the field. Instead of the Eagles continuing their push at the New England 32, the Patriots took control.
They couldn’t make anything of that possession, but at least Mayo won his first challenge as head coach.
